Jolt to Cong as 12 MLAs join TRS

Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, June 6

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Denting the Congress badly in Telangana, 12 MLAs of the party have joined the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), brining the strength of the Congress in the Assembly to six. The 12 MLAs met Speaker P Srinivas Reddy and gave him a representation to merge them with the TRS. 

Confirming the development, senior Congress legislator Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy said: “The 12 MLAs had decided to work with the Chief Minister for the development of the state”. The Congress’ strength in the 119-member House had dropped to 18 after state Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy resigned following his victory in the Parliamenetary segment from Nalgonda. 

Reddy and other MLAs today sat in dharna, with their mouths covered with black cloth alleging “gagging of democracy by the ruling party by poaching on Opposition MLAs”. Uttam Kumar said the entire planning had been done secretly by the Chief Minister as the Speaker who was available to the 12 MLAs was not available to him and his other party colleagues. “We are protesting the breach of trust of the people by these MLAs and urge the Speaker not to merge these MLAs with the TRS”, he said.

With only six MLAs, one less than the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), the Congress has lost its position as the largest Opposition party. Though the request for merger did not come as a surprise to many, the move had been on for some time. Early today the Tandoor Congress MLA Rohith Reddy met TRS Working President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s son KT Rama Rao and pledged his loyalty to the ruling outfit. Eleven Congress MLAs made it obvious as early as March that they would eventually cross over.

Today, Senior Congress legislator Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy said, “We held a special meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. The 12 members supported the leadership of Chief Minister KCR and wanted to work with him. We gave a representation to the Speaker and requested him to merge us with the TRS.”

The 12 MLAs were perhaps waiting for the resignation of Uttam Kumar as MLA from Mehbubnagar so that the strength of the party MLAs dropped from 19 to 18 which is exactly two-third of the Congress Legislature Party and will not attract provisions of the anti-defection law. The ruling TRS won 88 seats in the Assembly polls held in December last year.