Telangana Speaker Dismisses Defection Pleas, Clears Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari

Telangana Legislative Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Wednesday dismissed the disqualification petitions against two Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs, Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove they had defected to the ruling Congress party.

The decision, delivered after prolonged hearings, closes the final two pending cases among 10 disqualification petitions originally filed by the BRS against its former MLAs who were accused of switching loyalties following the Congress's rise to power in December 2023. Danam Nagender, who represents Khairatabad, had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket, while Kadiyam Srihari (Station Ghanpur) saw his daughter run as a Congress candidate in the same polls, and he publicly supported the party. Despite these actions, the Speaker held that no conclusive documentary proof existed of voluntary relinquishment of BRS membership under the anti-defection provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Speaker's verdict came a day before the matter was scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court, where the BRS had challenged delays in resolving the petitions. Earlier, the Speaker had cleared the other eight MLAs on similar grounds, recognizing them as continuing BRS members in the Assembly. In both cases involving Nagender and Srihari, the ruling emphasized the lack of material evidence presented by petitioners to substantiate formal defection claims.

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The development provides significant relief to the affected legislators, allowing them to retain their seats without disqualification. It has, however, sparked sharp criticism from the BRS, which termed the decision undemocratic and an assault on constitutional principles, with leaders like K.T. Rama Rao accusing the process of external pressure from the Congress. The opposition party highlighted actions like Nagender's Lok Sabha candidacy and Srihari's public endorsements as clear indicators of defection.

This outcome underscores ongoing political tensions in Telangana between the ruling Congress and the BRS, the former opposition party that governed the state until late 2023. The anti-defection cases stemmed from allegations of mass shifts in allegiance that bolstered the Congress's legislative strength post-election. With all petitions now dismissed, the focus may shift to potential legal challenges or further political maneuvers as parties prepare for future electoral battles in the state.

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