MLA breaks oath, dumps TDP for TRS

Hyderabad: In yet another shock to the beleagured Telangana Telugu Desam, the party’s MLA from Narayanpet in Mahbubnagar district, S. Rajender Reddy, on Thursday defected to the ruling TRS. The defection brings to 10, the number of TD legislators who ditched the party for the ruling party.

Especially hurting for the TD was the fact that this legislator, hours before joining the TRS, attended the TS TD general body meeting presided over by TD supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu and along with five other MLAs, took an oath that he would never ditch the party.

After the meeting ended, Mr Rajender met irrigation minister T. Harish Rao and announced he was joining the TRS.

These 10 MLAs would meet on Friday and adopt a resolution of merger of the TDLP into the TRS, claiming that the decision was of two-thirds of the TD MLAs. The resolution would then be handed over to Speaker S. Madhusudana Chary who in all probability would approve it and declare them as TRS legislators.

However, the 10th Schedule of the Constitution says that if any other legislator who wishes not to be associated with the “merger” can remain in the original party and would continues to be considered as TD members.