Hyderabad, Sep 24 Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said the Supreme Court verdict upholding the disqualification of BRS MLA Danam Nagender by the Telangana High Court for defecting to Congress is a slap in the face of the grand old party and BRS.
Recalling that Nagender had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket despite being elected to the assembly on behalf of BRS, he said Nagender’s action was against the anti-defection law.
Congress and BRS bear equal responsibility for “trampling the people’s mandate” as BRS had also encouraged defections from other parties when it was in power, he said in a post on ‘X’.
“BJP’s victory is a certainty” in the upcoming by-election to the Khairatabad assembly constituency represented by Nagender, he said.
BJP’s floor leader in the Telangana Assembly, A Maheshwar Reddy, who was a petitioner seeking Nagender’s disqualification, said the Supreme Court upholding the Telangana High Court’s judgment disqualifying Nagender is a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law.
The legal battle pursued by the BJP has ultimately secured justice, he said.
The verdict is a strong setback for the Congress, which gave a Lok Sabha ticket to an MLA elected from another party, he said.
“Rahul Gandhi, who frequently speaks about defending the Constitution, must also answer how giving a Lok Sabha ticket to an MLA elected on another party’s ticket is consistent with the spirit of the anti-defection law,” Maheshwar Reddy said in a statement.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who is expected to uphold the Constitution and the anti-defection law, should stop encouraging defections, he said.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao termed the Supreme Court verdict as “Supreme slap to Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy.”
Nagender’s attempt to escape disqualification has been rejected, he said.
“One wicket down – more to follow soon. Mark my words MLA Chor @RahulGandhi,” Rama Rao said in a post on ‘X’, in a reference to the Assembly Speaker dismissing the disqualification petitions against other BRS MLAs who the regional party alleges had switched over to Congress.
Meanwhile, Congress Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy said the party is ready to face the bypoll.
Despite tall claims by BRS, Congress had won the byelection to the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency, he told reporters.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Nagender’s plea challenging an order of the Telangana High Court which disqualified him following his defection to the ruling Congress, observing it was a case of ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’.
The high court had set aside an order of the Assembly Speaker in March this year dismissing petitions seeking his disqualification.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said there was no ground to interfere with the high court’s order.
“Your case is Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram, phir aaya Ram,” Justice Bagchi remarked orally.
The phrase is used to describe politicians who frequently switch sides.
The high court had declared Nagender, MLA from Khairatabad, disqualified from April 23, 2024, as a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, having contested from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency on the Congress ticket in 2024 while being a BRS MLA.
The court passed the order while dealing with petitions filed by Maheshwar Reddy and P Kaushik Reddy of BRS.
(PTI News)
