BRS welcomes HC order on defections, says Speaker must act now

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said the party had been maintaining from the very beginning that the defections were illegal and the MLAs would have to face the consequences. “The Supreme Court has been serious about defections.. It was only after the Speaker did not respond to our pleas we approached the court. We are confident that the turncoat MLAs will be disqualified and as we will have by-elections soon in the state,” Rama Rao said. The BRS had petitioned the court

Senior party leader T. Harish Rao said the High Court decision was “a slap in the face for the Congress party and its government.” He said the ruling was “a significant setback for Congress’ undemocratic practices. It clearly shows that those who switched parties cannot escape disqualification.” He said the BRS was confident that it would win the byelections once these MLAs — Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur) and Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam) — are disqualified.