Hyderabad: Telangana Assembly Speaker G Prasad Kumar will resume the hearing on the disqualification petitions filed by the BRS against rebel MLAs from Friday, October 24.
Before leaving for an official tour, the Speaker had already heard the arguments of four MLAs facing defection charges. He has now decided to complete the hearings on the remaining cases between October 24 and 30, allowing both sides to cross-examine each other’s arguments.
The BRS had submitted petitions seeking the disqualification of ten MLAs who defected to the Congress. Acting on these petitions, the Supreme Court directed the Speaker to conclude the hearings within three months, a deadline that ends on October 31.
In the first phase, the Speaker conducted hearings and completed the process on October 2. Sources said BRS is also preparing to file a fresh petition against Khairatabad MLA D. Nagender, who recently appeared as one of the Congress star campaigners for the Jubilee Hills by-election. The party plans to submit documentary evidence showing Nagender’s open association with the Congress, including his candidature in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
BRS had earlier urged the Speaker to disqualify ten MLAs who switched allegiance to the Congress over the past year and a half. Notices were issued to all, out of which eight MLAs have submitted written responses and affidavits, while D. Nagender and Kadiam Srihari have requested more time to respond. Though the Speaker granted them an extension, no specific deadline was set.
According to Assembly sources, the hearings will be closed to the public and media, with only the MLAs concerned and their lawyers permitted to attend.
The proceedings began on September 29 with hearings of B Krishna Mohan Reddy (Gadwal), G Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), K Yadaiah (Chevella), and P Prakash Reddy (Rajendranagar). Hearings for Mahipal Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy are reportedly complete.
The rebel MLAs, in their defence, denied formally joining the Congress, claiming they only met chief minister Revanth Reddy to discuss development works in their constituencies. However, the BRS submitted video clips as evidence of their defection.
Speaker Prasad is expected to announce his decision on the disqualification cases by the end of this month.
