Disqualification Petition: Jeevan hails Speaker’s verdict; tells Jagtial MLA to stay in line

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader and former MLC T Jeevan Reddy on Wednesday welcomed the verdict delivered by Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on the disqualification petition against Jagtial MLA Sanjay Kumar, while launching a sharp attack on the legislator.

Speaking to the media, Jeevan Reddy said he accepted the Speaker’s decision and also welcomed Sanjay Kumar’s statement that he belongs to the BRS party. However, he questioned Sanjay Kumar’s conduct and accused him of interfering in Congress’s internal affairs.

“Why do you have such a deceitful nature? After the Speaker’s verdict, behave properly. Don’t try to create discord in my Congress party. Behave correctly in your BRS party,” Jeevan Reddy said. He further questioned Sanjay Kumar’s development record, asking what progress he had achieved over the past two years. “Is development about eyeing your neighbour’s house?” he remarked. The former MLC also challenged Sanjay Kumar’s claims of performance while being associated with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, demanding clarity on the development works carried out during that period.

Meanwhile, differences between Jeevan Reddy and Sanjay Kumar have reportedly been continuing for the past one and a half years. Jeevan Reddy had earlier openly criticised the party leadership’s decision to give prominence to Sanjay Kumar after his switch from the BRS to the Congress.

These tensions are said to have intensified recently over ticket allocation for the Jagtial municipal elections. According to sources, of the 50 wards in the municipality, the party high command allotted 29 tickets to candidates backed by MLA Sanjay Kumar’s group and 21 to those aligned with Jeevan Reddy. Political analysts believe this distribution has deepened dissatisfaction within Jeevan Reddy’s camp and further strained relations between the two leaders.