Danam Nagender denies quitting BRS as Speaker fixes hearing on Jan 30

The disqualification case against Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender has entered a decisive phase, with Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar scheduling a hearing on January 30. Notices have been issued to Nagender, petitioner Padi Kaushik Reddy, BJP leader Maheshwar Reddy, and their counsel.

Hyderabad: The decision over the defection of Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender has moved into a crucial stage, with Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Wednesday scheduling a hearing on BRS petitions seeking his disqualification on January 30.

Notices have been issued to Nagender, petitioner Padi Kaushik Reddy, BJP floor leader Maheshwar Reddy and their legal counsel. The Speaker is expected to record statements from the petitioners as part of the proceedings.

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Nagender defected from the BRS and openly aligned with the ruling Congress by contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket. Ironically, he followed in the footsteps of nine other turncoat MLAs and filed an affidavit on Wednesday, claiming that he had not resigned from the BRS. He informed the Speaker that he merely attended a Congress meeting in his personal capacity in March 2024.

He even argued that the disqualification plea relies on assumptions of the BRS leadership drawn from media reports. He claimed that the BRS petition did not qualify for his disqualification, and went on to urge the Speaker not to consider the developments after the petition was submitted, indirectly referring to him contesting in the Lok Sabha elections on the Congress ticket and his continued association with the party activities thereafter.

Official sources said following the hearing on January 30, the Speaker would deliver his verdict with regard to the remaining three petitions against Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari and Sanjay Kumar. He had already dismissed disqualification petitions filed against seven other BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress, citing lack of evidence.