BRS leader urges Telangana Speaker to dispose of disqualification petitions

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and former Minister T. Harish Rao has urged Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to dispose of all petitions for the disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs who switched loyalties to the ruling Congress party.

In a letter to the Speaker, the MLA from Siddipet expressed ‘alarming concern’ over the ‘prolonged’ delay in disposing of a disqualification petition under the 10th Schedule.

“The Telangana Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground Defection) Rules, 1986- particularly Rule “3 to 7”-require inquiry, notice and expeditious decision-making. The pendency of these petitions violates Article 191 (2),” wrote Harish Rao.

He mentioned that the Supreme Court has already cautioned and warned the Speaker to deliver rulings on the disqualification of defected MLAs without further delay, reiterating the principle laid down in Keisham Meghachandra Singh vs. Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly that such decisions be made within a reasonable time. The BRS leader stated that continued non-compliance undermines constitutional morality and public confidence.

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While congratulating the Speaker on completing two years in office, the former minister for legislative affairs wrote that it was deeply unfortunate that during this period several fundamental rules and procedures governing the functioning of the House had not been adhered to, leading to serious institutional lapses and a weakening of the Assembly’s constitutional role.

He highlighted what he called several serious procedural lapses that have adversely affected the functioning and credibility of the Telangana Legislative Assembly. These issues amount to clear violations of the Rules of Procedure and weaken the Legislature’s constitutional mandate.

The number of working days of the Assembly has significantly declined, contrary to the requirement under Rule 12 that the Assembly shall sit on such days as required for the state of business. Frequent and abrupt adjournments without sufficient justification are inconsistent with Rule 13 regarding timings of sittings and Rule 16 concerning adjournment procedures.

“The Question Hour and Zero Hour have not been conducted in accordance with Rules “38 to 52” and “53 to 62”. Starred questions were not taken up, supplementary questions were restricted, and Zero Hour was often curtailed, undermining the purpose of Rule “38” on time allotted for questions and Rule “50” regarding supplementary questions,” he wrote.

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He voiced deep concern that unstarred question replies have not been furnished to members, even though the rules mandate timely written answers. The failure to provide written replies violates mandatory provisions and weakens the accountability mechanism of the House.

“A particularly grave lapse is that several House Committees have not been constituted for nearly two years, contrary to the mandatory requirements of Rule “196” on appointment of committees, Rule “198” on their term, and Rule “227” which specifies that committee work does not lapse upon prorogation. This has severely weakened legislative scrutiny and oversight.”

Harish Rao wrote that the non-appointment of the Deputy Speaker, despite the prolonged vacancy, is another significant procedural violation. He said that since the Deputy Speaker functions as Chairman of the Privileges Committee, the vacancy has rendered the Committee non-functional, leaving numerous privilege matters pending.

He also drew the attention of the Speaker to the fact that the Chairman of the Estimates Committee has tendered resignation, resulting in weakened committee oversight. The failure to reconstitute statutory committees has brought important legislative work to a standstill, he said.