Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress Legislature Party has intensified efforts to make an effective representation in the Supreme Court against MLAs who defected to TRS. The Supreme Court will hear the case on October 19.
CLP leader K. Jana Reddy, Leader of Opposition Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir and other senior leaders met Congress MP and former Solicitor General Vivek Tankha, who is arguing the case in the Supreme Court.
“We are confident of getting a favourable judgment against the legislators who defected to the ruling party in violation of law.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has engineered 47 defections in 28 months and Speaker S. Madhusudan Chary has supported his action by remaining silent on disqualification petitions submitted by opposition parties.
We will tell the Supreme Court that the Speaker has erred in merging 12 TDP MLAs with the TRS and will also question his inaction against other defectors,” said Shabbir Ali.
Shabbir Ali hoped that the Supreme Court would take a serious note of defection by 25 MLAs, 18 MLCs and 4 MPs. Those who defected to TRS include MLAs – 12 from TDP, 7 from Congress, 3 from YSRCP, 2 from BSP and 1 from CPI.
“We were told by legal experts that there was no provision in law that permits merger of “Legislature Parties” as they are part of main political party. Therefore, the Speaker has no right to merge the two Legislature Parties.
The powers to merge political parties are vested only with the Election Commission of India. By defecting to other parties, the Legislators or Parliamentarians cannot seek their party’s merger,” he said while adding that the Supreme Court might dispose off the case on October 19 itself.
It may be mentioned that the Supreme Court had earlier served notice to the Speaker seeking reply on a petition filed against defectors. (INN)