Calcutta High Court order leaves BRS turncoat MLAs tensed

The Calcutta HC’s disqualification of Mukul Roy under anti-defection law has heightened anxiety among ten BRS MLAs facing similar proceedings in Telangana, as the Speaker seeks more time from the Supreme Court to decide their fate

Hyderabad: The ten turncoat legislators who shifted their allegiance to the Congress after getting elected on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tickets are now the most worried lot after the Calcutta High Court disqualified West Bengal senior legislator Mukul Roy, who had switched loyalties from BJP to TMC under anti-defection law.

In May 2021 Assembly elections, Mukul Roy contested from Krishnanagar North seat representing the BJP. However, after the elections, he joined the TMC in the presence of Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, while retaining his MLA status.

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Citing violation under the anti-defection law, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP MLA Ambika Roy had filed a petition in the court seeking action against the BJP turncoat MLA.

The court on Thursday issued orders disqualifying Mukul Roy from the Assembly. It also set aside West Bengal Speaker’s earlier order, which refused to act on the disqualification petition, stressing that delay in deciding such matters violated constitutional duty, according to reports.

The Calcutta High Court verdict sent shivers down the spines of 10 BRS turncoat MLAs, who switched loyalties to Congress after the Assembly elections in 2023.

The BRS party had approached the Supreme Court seeking disqualification of the 10 MLAs. Accordingly, the apex court on July 31 wanted Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to act on the MLAs’ disqualification within three months, which elapsed on October 31.

Of the 10 defected MLAs, eight had submitted their affidavits in response to the Speaker’s notice. Two legislators, including Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender and Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari, had sought more time.

During cross examination, the defected MLAs claimed they were technically still associated with the BRS and defended that they had met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy only to seek support for development of their respective constituencies. One among the turncoat MLAs, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy from Banswada, at a programme had admitted that he had contested on the BRS ticket and would abide by the Speaker’s decision on the disqualification.

Amidst these claims, the Speaker on October 31 had sought two more months’ extension from the Supreme Court on the disqualification of the 10 MLAs.

Meanwhile, BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan appealed to the Speaker to permit live streaming and official recording of the tribunal proceedings of disqualification. He also wanted the orders, reasons and minutes of the tribunal proceedings uploaded on the Legislative Assembly website. “If all the legal tribunals, High Courts and the Supreme Court can be telecast live, what privilege protects the Speaker or Chairman from public gaze?” Sravan asked.