In a significant development for Telangana politics, Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar dismissed disqualification petitions filed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) against ten of its own legislators. The speaker's decision hinged on a crucial detail: the BRS continued to collect Rs 5,000 monthly from these MLAs for "legislature party office maintenance," even after accusing them of defecting to the Congress.
The Core Argument: Continued Financial Ties
The speaker held that the persistent collection and acceptance of the monthly Rs 5,000 amount, even after the disqualification petitions were filed, demonstrated that the BRS itself treated the legislators as its members. The MLAs in question, including Kadiyam Srihari (Station Ghanpur), Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru), Kale Yadaiah, and T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), argued they remained primary BRS members. They pointed out that the contribution was automatically deducted from their salaries towards the BRS legislature party office fund until March 2025.
Nine of the ten MLAs asserted these deductions continued uninterrupted, despite the BRS alleging their defection from April 2024. The speaker noted this issue of automatic salary deductions came to light during proceedings in the Telangana High Court in April this year.
Speaker's Order and BRS's Rebuttal
In his order, Speaker Prasad Kumar observed, "The contention that the monthly contributions of Rs 5,000... continued to be collected and accepted on behalf of the respondents cannot be construed as anything other than contributions made to the party itself." He deemed any argument to the contrary as "wholly untenable and absurd."
The BRS firmly rejected this reasoning. Party general secretary and legal expert Soma Bharat argued that payment of membership fees or office charges could not override what he called "clear evidence of defection." He stated that automatic bank deductions or deposits could not be treated as definitive proof of continued party membership, suggesting amounts could be deposited into any known account or refunded later.
Allegations of Bias and Procedural Lapses
The BRS alleged the speaker failed to act as an impartial tribunal and instead functioned as a representative of the Congress. They claimed the MLAs had publicly joined the Congress, declared allegiance at press conferences, and were seen wearing the Congress 'kanduva' (scarf).
Another pillar of the speaker's ruling involved questioning the 'locus standi' or legal standing of the BRS leaders who filed the petitions. He pointed out that the mandatory procedure under assembly rules—where the legislature party leader (K Chandrasekhar Rao) must submit Form 1 within 30 days of the first assembly sitting specifying authorized communicators—was not followed.
Prasad Kumar also questioned why, if defection had truly occurred, the BRS legislature party failed to officially inform him of any change in its strength by deleting the alleged defectors within the stipulated 30-day period.
Stability Unaffected and Evidentiary Shortcomings
The speaker further observed that even if the ten MLAs had defected, it would not affect the stability of the Congress government. The Congress already commands the support of 64 MLAs and was never dependent on these BRS members for survival.
He also flagged serious deficiencies in the evidence submitted by the BRS. Citing assembly rules, he noted the petitions must be accompanied by authenticated media material with full publisher details. "The complainants have not produced original newspaper clippings and electronic media extracts without any of the particulars as mandated by rules," he said, concluding the submitted material could not be treated as valid primary evidence.
Countering the BRS's claims, the MLAs accused the party of filing "mala fide and misconceived" petitions to victimize them. They denied giving up party membership and stated meetings with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy were solely to seek development funds for their constituencies. Arekapudi Gandhi argued that exchanging bouquets and scarves was mere courtesy, not political alignment, and highlighted his appointment as chairman of the public accounts committee, a post traditionally allotted to the principal opposition party.
