Stung by Speaker's decision,Congress to move HC today

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday said that they would move the State High Court on Friday against the Speaker of the Assembly against his decision to merge the Congress legislature party with TRS.

He has also announced action plan against the merger and said that a protest programme would be held on June 8 at Dharna Chowk. He said that the Congress would fight till the TRS government is dislodged.

Addressing the media, along with Congress Legislature Party leader in Assembly Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and former MLC Shabbir Ali, he said that the decision to merge the CLP with TRS was illegal, unconstitutional and violation of sanctity of Assembly.

He dared the Chief Minister to spell out the reasons for the merger of the CLP with TRS. He said that whether the merger was affected to protect the government, to protect the illegally amassed wealth, to see that there would be no one in the Assembly to question the government. He made it clear that there was no loss to the Congress due to the merger. He said that entire Telangana was at loss. He said that the mandate of the people has been dishonoured.

He said that a greedy and over ambitious family, the family of the Chief Minister, was behind the illegal merger. He alleged that even during the combined state period TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao tried to spoil all the constitutional institutions for his own benefit.

He said that for his own good the Chief Minister has devastated the institutions. He alleged that when Chandrashekhar Rao became Chief Minister in 2014, he has admitted 12 of the 15 Telugu Desam MLAs into TRS. He has also inducted three YSRC MLAs and one MP of that party. Though the TRS has won massive mandate in 2018, the TRS chief continued the spree of admissions of other party MLAs. Though the Congress helped the ruling party to see unanimous election of Speaker and deputy Speaker, he has not spared the Congress.

Uttam alleged that the Speaker was afraid of taking the petitions of the Congress against the defections. He was not available to Congress leaders though he was in Hyderabad. He alleged that the MLAs of Congress have been lured with money and other enticements and intimidated to join the ruling party. He said that all these have been taken to the notice of the Speaker and he was urged not to entertain any application of the defected MLAs for merger. He said that the Speaker enjoys the status of Chief Justice of the High Court.

But the present Speaker has brought bad name to that office. He said that the Speaker did not take decision on the disqualification petitions of the Congress. He said that on Thursday the Speaker was not available to the Congress leaders. Even though he has tried for 10 times on Thursday to meet him, there was no use. Uttam said that the Speaker met the Congress MLAs at a secret place and accepted their application.

Uttam said that Tandur MLA Rohith Reddy was intimidated by MLC of TRS Navin Kumar with dire consequences if he did not join the TRS. "Rohith Reddy himself told me that he was intimidated with criminal cases. Former MP K Vishweshwar Reddy was also threatened in the same. Rohith was nothing before him," Uttam said.