TDP seeks action against defectors

Hyderabad: Intensifying their demand to take action against the defectors, the Telangana unit of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday urged Assembly Speaker S Madhusudana Chary to initiate action against the party MLAs who joined the TRS violating the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law. TDP leaders complained that five MLAs including Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who were elected to the Assembly on TDP ticket, defected to the TRS in the last one year.

The other defected MLAs are Teegala Krishna Reddy (Maheshwaram), Challa Dharma Reddy (Parakala), Manchireddy Kishan Reddy (Ibrahimpatnam) and Madhavaram Krishna Rao (Kukatpally). Though several representations were made seeking action against the defectors, steps had not been initiated so far, the TDP alleged. A delegation of TDP leaders led by party president L Ramana called on the Speaker at his residence after calling on Governor E S L Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.

High drama preceded the meeting as security personnel stopped the delegation from entering the Speaker’s residence stating that they would allow only MLAs to meet the Speaker leading to heated arguments. In the memorandum submitted to the Speaker, the TDP leaders said the Speaker had not acted upon the defected MLAs, five from the TDP, four from the Congress and two from the YSRCP in spite of repeated representations.

Talasani was inducted into the Cabinet on December 16 last year in violation of the Constitution and this was tantamount to cheating the people who elected him, it said. “You have not acted upon the petitions the TDP had submitted for obvious reasons, making mockery of the Constitution,” they alleged in the memorandum. The Minister, they alleged, pretended that he had sent his resignation from Sanatnagar constituency from where he was elected but the Speaker’s office had clarified that there was no resignation pending with it.