Mahesh Goud dismisses defection charge, says Congress did not lure MLAs

TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud dismissed allegations that Congress encouraged defections, a day after the High Court disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender. Goud welcomed the verdict and said Congress was ready for the Khairatabad by-election

Hyderabad: A day after the Telangana High Court disqualified Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud claimed that the Congress had not encouraged defections.

During an informal interaction with media persons in New Delhi on Saturday, Goud welcomed the High Court judgment.

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“There were no defections into the Congress government. The MLAs had only extended their support to the Praja Palana government,” Goud said, according to reports.

He maintained that the High Court judgment was an embarrassment to the BRS. “It is the BRS party which commenced the culture of defections,” he alleged.

The TPCC president further said the Telangana Congress was prepared to contest the Khairatabad by-election, but refrained from announcing its candidate.

“The party high command will take a decision and it will be final. Irrespective of who the candidate will be, Congress will win convincingly,” Goud stressed.

Goud said the Congress would not suffer any damage due to the High Court judgment and claimed that the BJP had no moral right to speak about defections.

“One should remember the BJP’s act of dividing a recognised and established political party in Maharashtra,” Goud said.