Hyderabad, September 18: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Friday welcomed the Telangana High Court’s order disqualifying MLA Danam Nagender following his defection from the party to the Congress, with senior BRS leaders saying other MLAs who switched parties could face similar proceedings.
BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao said the High Court order marked a significant development in the defection case and predicted that the other MLAs who crossed over to the Congress after winning elections on BRS tickets would also meet the same fate.
“Satyameva Jayate!! BRS MLA Danam Nagendar, who defected to Congress, got disqualified by the Hon’ble High Court today. The rest of the defectors will also meet the same fate soon,” Rama Rao said in a post on X.
His remarks came after the High Court set aside the Telangana Assembly Speaker’s decision rejecting petitions seeking Nagender’s disqualification. The BRS has been demanding action against legislators who switched political allegiance after being elected on the party’s ticket.
BRS Deputy Leader in the Telangana Assembly T. Harish Rao said the Nagender case had raised questions about the Congress government’s approach to constitutional provisions governing defections.
“The Telangana High Court’s judgment in the Danam Nagender disqualification case has exposed the Congress Government’s double standards,” Harish Rao said.
He alleged that Nagender had won the Assembly election on a BRS ticket before joining the Congress and continuing as an MLA. Harish Rao also referred to Nagender contesting the Lok Sabha election as a Congress candidate while remaining an MLA.
According to Harish Rao, the Speaker’s decision had protected Nagender from disqualification, but the High Court’s intervention had now brought renewed attention to the manner in which the petitions were handled.
The former minister also invoked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s public statements on the Constitution and the party’s 2024 election manifesto, which, he said, had proposed changes to the Tenth Schedule to make defection an automatic ground for disqualification.
“But when defections benefit Congress, where does that constitutional commitment disappear?” Harish Rao asked.
He urged the Speaker to examine the disqualification petitions pending against other MLAs who had defected from the BRS and take action in accordance with the Constitution and law.
Harish Rao further said that if Rahul Gandhi was committed to protecting constitutional principles, he should ask Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to seek the resignation of all defected MLAs and have them face fresh elections.
“The Congress party and Rahul Gandhi must answer the people. Is their commitment to the Constitution genuine, or does it change with political convenience?” Harish Rao said in another post on X.
BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, who was among the petitioners challenging the Speaker’s decision in the Nagender case, described the High Court order as a victory for his party.
“This is a victory for BRS. Our party has achieved success after a two-and-a-half-year-long struggle,” Kaushik Reddy said.
He also criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over the issue, saying the court order had halted what he described as the government’s efforts to retain defected legislators.
Kaushik Reddy further claimed that the other eight MLAs who switched from the BRS to the Congress would also face disqualification proceedings. He said the High Court ruling had strengthened the BRS’s position in its demand for action against the remaining defected legislators.
Referring to the possibility of a by-election in the Khairatabad Assembly constituency following Nagender’s disqualification, Kaushik Reddy expressed confidence about the BRS’s prospects. He also said by-elections could be held in the constituencies represented by the remaining defected MLAs if they too were disqualified.
The High Court order has therefore intensified the political debate in Telangana over defections, the role of the Assembly Speaker and the application of the constitutional provisions governing elected representatives who change parties.
