KTR: BRS will take legal action against defecting MLAs

Hyderabad: The BRS is gearing up for a legal battle to disqualify MLAs who have joined the ruling Congress. The party’s working president KT Rama Rao has announced plans to file a case in the Supreme Court. He expressed confidence that the Telangana High Court or the Supreme Court may give necessary directions on the issue within a month, making bypolls inevitable in Telangana. “The defecting MLAs will be made accountable for their actions in the public sphere during the bypolls,” he said after a meeting with legal and constitutional experts in Delhi on Monday. He consulted legal and constitutional experts along with former ministers and senior BRS leaders T Harish Rao, G Jagadeesh Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar and others about the legal steps to be adopted against the defecting MLAs. The BRS leaders submitted documents related to their high court petition and complaints against the defecting MLAs to the Speaker. Constitutional expert Chetpat Aryama Sundaram told the BRS delegation that the Supreme Court has ruled on similar cases earlier, stressing that the Speaker cannot delay disqualification decisions indefinitely. Legal advisers indicated that the High Court is likely to take a quick decision based on the Supreme Court guidelines, and if it does not, the BRS will take the matter to the Supreme Court. Rama Rao said the BRS will continue its legal battle based on expert advice and legal precedents. He said the Congress was promoting defections in Telangana to undermine the spirit of the Constitution, promising that the courts would soon teach them a lesson. He expressed confidence of a timely solution. “By-elections in Telangana are inevitable and we will educate the public about defections,” he said, adding that MLAs who defect will have to face consequences in the public sphere. Meanwhile, Rama Rao and Harish Rao are scheduled to meet BRS MLC K Kavitha in Tihar jail on Monday, where she is lodged in judicial remand in connection with cases related to the Delhi Excise Policy.