HYDERABAD
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has welcomed the Supreme Court judgement on the defected MLA from Khairatabad Danam Nagender in the disqualification case and hoped that the remaining eight MLAs who defected from BRS to Congress would also meet the same fate.
Reacting to the judgment, senior party leader T. Harish Rao said the judgment was questioning the double standards of the Congress, which often recites constitutional protection, with its leader Rahul Gandhi going around the country with the ‘samvidhan bachao’ slogan. He suggested to Mr. Gandhi that the other MLAs who defected to his party resign immediately and seek fresh mandate.
BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy told newspersons here that the BJP was claiming credit in case of Mr. Nagender’s disqualification, which, he said, had materialised with the legal battle waged by BRS. He sought to know why the BJP did not file petitions in case of the remaining eight defected MLAs if it was sincere in fighting defections. He reminded that Mr. Nagender had defected to Congress on March 14, 2024, and the BRS had lodged a complaint with the Speaker immediately on March 18, and moved the High Court on April 10 that year.
Hearing in the High Court began in July and he (Kaushik Reddy) and BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao moved the court again in January 2025. In July 2025, the High Court told the Speaker to take a time-bound decision on the disqualification petitions. On March 11 this year, the Speaker had taken a decision in favour of Mr. Nagender, but the BRS filed one more petition in the High Court immediately.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kaushik Reddy said Section 22A prohibited lands/properties list would have an impact on the Khairatabad by-election, whenever it was held.
