Telangana HC questions conduct of BRS defectors in State Assembly

The Telangana High Court questioned the conduct of 10 BRS MLAs accused of defecting to the Congress, asking how they acted during Assembly proceedings. Petitioners argued the defectors continued to claim BRS membership despite switching allegiance. The matter was adjourned to Tuesday.

By Our Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin of the Telangana High Court on Monday questioned the conduct of 10 MLAs who were elected on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) tickets and later allegedly switched allegiance to the Congress.

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The Division Bench, which continued hearing the petitions filed by the BRS MLA’s challenging the failure to disqualify the alleged defectors, sought to know how the MLAs conducted themselves in the Assembly after their alleged switch of allegiance.

The Bench specifically asked the Senior Counsel appearing for the Petitioners where the MLAs stood when BRS issued whips and how they voted when Bills came up for consideration in the Assembly. The Court also sought to know their position during voice votes.

The Court posed these questions in the backdrop of the contentions of the Senior Counsels Vivek Reddy and Gandra Mohan Rao appearing on behalf of the Petitioners that several of BRS’s MLAs had effectively shifted allegiance to the ruling Congress while continuing to claim that they remained BRS legislators. The Senior Counsels further pointed out that Danam Nagender, who was elected as a BRS MLA, subsequently contested the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket.

The BRS submitted that it had placed relevant material concerning his alleged defection before the Speaker’s tribunal, but no action was taken on the same. The Bench, however, also questioned the BRS about the steps taken by the party against the MLAs who had allegedly changed parties.

During the hearing, the petitioners submitted that the MLAs continued to claim that they were BRS legislators, but were no longer participating in the party’s programmes. Due to paucity of time, the matters were adjourned to Tuesday.