Telangana: Defected MLAs face disqualification threat
Hyderabad: The disqualification of five BRS MLAs who joined the ruling Congress in Telangana appears to be imminent. The situation has set the stage for possible by-elections by the end of the year, unless the Congress manages to merge two-thirds of the BRS legislative party members into its fold in the next few weeks. The defection began when Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inducted Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagendra and then Chevella MP G Ranjith Reddy into the party on March 17 this year. The BRS immediately submitted a disqualification petition to the Speaker on March 18 which is still pending. Soon after, Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari and Bhadrachalam MLA Telam Venkata Rao joined the Congress on March 31 and April 7 respectively. When the BRS attempted to submit another petition, there was no response from the Speaker. Hence, MLA KP Vivekanand submitted the petition seeking disqualification of the two MLAs through registered post and email on April 10. Later, Banswada MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar joined the Congress on June 21 and 23 respectively. After the Speaker did not respond to their requests for appointment, the BRS opted to submit disqualification petitions against them through registered post and email.
BRS legal battle
Upon receiving no response from Speaker Gaddam Prasad, BRS MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy and KP Vivekananda took the matter to the Telangana High Court, seeking a direction to the Speaker to disqualify the MLAs who defected. They cited the Supreme Court directive, which states that the Speaker must decide on disqualification petitions within three months. The Telangana High Court is scheduled to hear these writ petitions on July 3. The High Court also has to decide within three months as per paragraphs 30 and 33 of the Supreme Court order. If the issue remains unresolved, the BRS plans to take it to the Supreme Court, seeking inclusion of all defecting MLAs in the disqualification petition.
Legislative and legal framework
Under Schedule 10 of the Indian Constitution, the Speaker is the tribunal responsible for deciding on the disqualification of MLAs. The Supreme Court judgment in the Kesham Meghchandra Singh case reinforced that the Speaker must take such decisions within a reasonable period, i.e. three months, unless there are exceptional circumstances. The anti-defection law further states that an MLA can escape disqualification only if two-thirds of his party MLAs join another party. Ironically, Congress leaders in Haryana are seeking the disqualification of party MLA Kiran Choudhary, who joined the BJP in the state, and are asking the state assembly speaker to disqualify her immediately. They are citing the same cases and reasons raised by the BRS for disqualification of the defecting MLA in Telangana. In a written reminder to the Speaker earlier this month, Congress leaders Aftab Ahmed and BB Batra said the 10th Schedule empowers the Speaker to take suo motu cognizance of any member voluntarily resigning from the party. The Congress had earlier written to the Speaker on June 19 seeking disqualification.
Congress vs BRS: Political chessboard
The Congress has defended its moves by citing two defections by the BRS (formerly TRS) after the formation of Telangana. The BRS, however, said their moves were constitutionally valid because of the two-third majority rule. Currently, the Congress is considering a similar strategy but faces a tough challenge, sources said. To avoid disqualification of the defecting MLAs, the Congress needs 26 of the 38 BRS MLAs to defect – a scenario that political analysts consider highly unlikely.
Political implications
Political analysts argue that even with aggressive strategies, the Congress is unlikely to secure the defection of the required number of BRS MLAs to avoid bypolls. The BRS had previously managed to get 12 of the 18 Congress MLAs to join its fold after the 2018 assembly elections, but the Congress lacks the time and capacity to replicate this success. The Supreme Court’s strict deadline has further complicated the Congress’ task, raising the possibility of fresh bypolls.
