Hyderabad: Worried over the stream of defections, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee has decided to work for the amendment of the anti-defection law for quick disqualification of those who jump ship.
The Congress Legisla-tive Party, which met at the Assembly committee hall on Sunday in the backdrop of two party MLAs — Athram Sakku and Rega Kantha Rao — quitting the party, resolved to stage protests in the constituencies of the two legislators. After the CLP meeting, the Congress MLAs staged a protest outside the Assembly, wearing black badges.
During the meeting, CLP members decided to work for the amendment of the anti-defection law. Speaking to this newspaper, LB Nagar legislator D. Sudheer Reddy said, “We came to the conclusion that the present anti-defection law has many defects.”
Recalling the recent action of Legislative Council chairman A. Swamy Goud of disqualifying TRS members for their defection to the Congress while recognising the defection of Congress MLCs to the ruling party, he said the power of disqualification resting with the Speaker of the Assembly and Chairman of the Council has been misused. This was not good for a healthy democracy, and to reform the current defection law, a strong movement is required. Members of the CLP also felt that an MLA should be deemed disqualified the moment she of he changes parties and has to go for fresh elections, he added.
Of the 17 MLAs remaining in the party, 15 attended the emergency meeting. Tandur MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy informed party leaders that he was out of station.
Speaking to mediapersons, TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “We expected that unlike in his first term, KCR will behave honestly, but he continues to play cheap politics. He has bought our MLAs with money. Earlier too, he bought MLCs of the Congress.”
Mr Reddy said the party would stage protests on March 5 in Pinapaka and Asifabad constituencies against the MLAs who won on the Congress ticket and joined the TRS.
CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka alleged that Mr Chandrasekhar Rao had chosen an undemocratic path.
“The debate on defections should take place across the state. The Speaker should take action on the defecting MLAs immediately,” Mr Bhatti said.
