TG Speaker to resume hearing of turncoat BRS MLAs from tomorrow

Hyderabad: Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar will take up the hearing of the remaining BRS MLAs, who are facing defection charges from November 6.

The BRS MLAs facing the charges of defection to Congress including Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkat Rao and Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar will be called on November 6 while Bhanswada MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender will attend the hearing on November 13. The Speaker has been taking up hearing of the petitions filed by the BRS party against its ten MLAs who had joined the Congress party.

While hearing and cross-examination has been completed for four MLAs so far, hearing of other six MLAs is yet to be taken up. The four MLAs had appeared along with their advocates. There was cross examination from both sides before the Speaker. The Speaker’s office sources said that out of the ten MLAs facing charges, only eight of them have responded to the notices and hearing of only four MLAs was completed. The MLAs, who appeared at the hearing along with their lawyers, had argued that they were still in BRS and that there was no defection. However, the petitioners, BRS leaders, submitted evidence, affidavits and videos related to them.

It may be mentioned here that the BRS leaders had first approached the Speaker against the ten MLAs seeking their disqualification. With lack of response on their petition, they approached the High Court. When the High Court did not give a positive verdict to BRS, the party approached the Supreme Court. The Apex court took up the hearing and directed the Speaker’s office to take a decision within three months, which ends on October 31.

According to the sources in the Speaker’s office, the MLAs will be attending the inquiry along with their advocates on November 6 and there will be cross- examination with arguments from both the sides. Similarly, two more MLAs will be called on November 13.