Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

TRS to seek legal course

HYDERABAD: Assembly Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy’s decision to accept the resignations of six rebel MLAs of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti attracted sharp criticism from the TRS and the Telugu Desam that charged the Speaker with ‘acting under the pressure from Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’.

The disqualified MLAs, however, expressed concern that the Speaker acted under pressure from the TRS that staged a protest in front of his house forcing him to deliver a “political judgment” rather than the one based on the procedures. The TRS and TDP members who met the Speaker and urged him to disqualify all the nine rebels this morning alleged that the judgment delivered by the Chair exposed the “Chief Minister’s grip” on the proceedings of the House.

TRS MLA T. Harish Rao said his party would seek legal course against the decision to accept the resignations of six MLAs and thereby allowing the rebels to escape.

“Why was the judgment leaked before it was delivered?” he asked.

When the Speaker had accepted the TRS’ contention on disqualification of three of the members, the same should hold good for the others too and the party had decided to approach the court for seeking a clarification in this direction.

TDP MLA P. Keshav described the judgment as “painful” as it exposed the way the Chief Minister was controlling the proceedings of the Assembly that ought to function as an independent body.

Rebel MLA Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy, who was among those disqualified, said he would respect the verdict delivered by the Speaker, but was concerned over the way the latter was “threatened and pressured” to deliver it.

The rebels, he claimed, did not violate any provisions in that they had extended their support to the Independent candidate Kasani Gnaneswar on March 7 whereas the party had circulated a note of its decision to support two nominees on March 19.

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