BRS MLAs want Speaker to remove Danam from office

Meeting with Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Monday, a delegation of BRS MLAs requested him to remove Danam Nagender from his position as a member of the Assembly.

Two days ago, Nagender, who was elected to the Assembly on the BRS ticket, became a member of the Congress.

After meeting with Prasad Kumar at his Hyderabad home, BRS MLAs Padi Kaushik Reddy, Kaleru Venkatesh, Muta Gopal, and Bandaru Laxma Reddy filed a petition asking for Nagender’s disqualification.

Following the meeting, Kaushik Reddy informed reporters that the Congress “will not survive” if the BRS opens its doors. He questioned Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy about his motivations for supporting defections.

Revanth used to make fun of Danam Nagender by claiming that he was a punjagutta beedi seller. The BRS MLA questioned, “Now, will the chief minister force Nagender to sell beedis again?”

Former MP B Vinod Kumar said elsewhere that Nagender’s disqualification was the Speaker’s only choice. He said that the Maharashtra Speaker was recently given a three-month deadline by the Supreme Court to decide on disqualification petitions. He requested that Prasad Kumar make a swift conclusion while upholding the Constitution.

The Anti-Defection Act was passed in 1985, Vinod Kumar remembered, during the tenure of the late Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister. He said, “If Congress leaders have any respect for Rajiv Gandhi, they should not encourage defections.”