Kadiyam Srihari denies defection in counter affidavit to disqualification petition

Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari has denied allegations of defecting from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to the Congress, submitting a counter affidavit to Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. His response comes amid disqualification petitions against several BRS MLAs accused of switching loyalties after the 2023 elections.

Hyderabad: Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari has submitted a counter affidavit to Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, denying to have defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the Indian National Congress (INC).

In his written response to a disqualification petition filed by BRS MLA KP Vivekanand, Srihari stated: “I have not resigned from the BRS party. I am still continuing in the BRS. I have not joined the Congress party… I have not behaved in such a manner on any platform.”

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The 74-year-old MLA, in the affidavit addressed to the Assembly Speaker, described the petition’s claims as a “blatant lie”. He asserted that he had neither voluntarily given up his primary membership of the BRS, nor taken membership in the Congress, nor expressed any intention of doing so.

Srihari’s submission comes amid ongoing hearings on disqualification petitions against several BRS MLAs accused of switching loyalties to the ruling Congress after being elected on BRS tickets in 2023.

On Wednesday, the Speaker dismissed petitions against five such MLAs citing lack of evidence, while decisions on others, including Srihari and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, remain pending as they have only recently responded to notices.

The BRS alleged that Srihari defected in March 2024, pointing to his public support for Congress activities, including campaigning for his daughter Kadiyam Kavya, who won the Warangal Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket.

However, Srihari has maintained in his affidavit that no formal defection occurred. The Speaker is expected to pronounce orders on the remaining petitions soon, following Supreme Court directives to resolve the matters expeditiously. The BRS has vowed to move the Supreme Court again on the issue.