After MLAs, now BRS to file plea in SC against turncoat MLCs

Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will file a petition in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking the disqualification of its MLCs who defected to the ruling Congress.BRS working president KT Rama Rao, along with the members of the party's legal team, reached New Delhi on Saturday. Party president K Chandrasekhar Rao had already given the go-ahead to the party leaders to file the petition against the defected MLCs in the apex court.The party has decided to seek the disqualification of MLCs Patnam Mahender Reddy, Dande Vittal, T Bhanu Prasad Rao, and K Damodar Reddy, who not only joined the Congress but also took part in its programmes while abstaining from BRS activities.Buoyed by the Supreme Court's recent order directing the Telangana assembly speaker to act within three months on defected BRS MLAs, the party has now shifted its focus to turncoat MLCs.Initially, two MLCs joined the ruling Congress. In March 2024, the BRS filed petitions against Patnam Mahender Reddy and K Damodar Reddy before the legislative council chairman, Gutta Sukhender Reddy, immediately after they defected to the Congress.Later, six more MLCs, including some nominated members, shifted loyalty to Congress. They are Basavaraj Saraiah, MS Prabhakar, Dande Vittal, Yegge Mallesham, Boggarapu Dayanand, and T Bhanu Prasad Rao.Of the eight defectors, four MLCs — Patnam Mahender Reddy (Rangareddy), K Damodar Reddy (Mahabubnagar), Dande Vittal (Adilabad), and T Bhanu Prasad Rao (Karimnagar) — were elected on the BRS symbol. Saraiah and Dayanand were nominated under the governor's quota, to whom the anti-defection provisions do not directly apply. Meanwhile, two others — Prabhakar and Mallesham — have already completed their legislative tenure.