Hyderabad, Nov. 23 – The Telangana Legislative Assembly member Danam Nagender, one of ten BRS lawmakers who reportedly crossed over to the Congress, has requested more time to answer a summons issued by Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar.
Nagender, who represents Khairatabad in Hyderabad, mailed a letter to the Speaker asking for an extension before responding to the notice.
The Speaker has already concluded hearings on petitions seeking to disqualify eight MLAs accused of defecting from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the ruling Congress.
On Nov. 20, the Speaker sent fresh notices to Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari, demanding replies by Nov. 23. This was the third time the notices were issued because the two had not responded previously.
Srihari has also asked for additional time to reply to the latest notice.
BRS had filed disqualification petitions against ten MLAs who were elected on the BRS ticket in the 2023 elections but switched allegiance to Congress in 2024.
The Speaker finished hearings for eight of those petitions—Kale Yadaiah, Krishna Mohan Reddy, G. Mahipal Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Sanjay Kumar, Arekapudi Gandhi, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Tellam Venkat Rao. After considering arguments from both sides, the Speaker deferred its decision.
BRS argued that the MLAs openly joined the Congress and even took seats in the treasury benches, while the lawmakers say they simply met with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to request funds for their constituencies.
The BRS also noted that Nagender not only joined Congress but ran from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. It further claimed that Srihari campaigned for his daughter Kadiyam Kaviya, who contested the Warangal Lok Sabha seat as a Congress candidate.
On Nov. 17, the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the Telangana Speaker for failing to resolve the disqualification pleas against the ten MLAs. Earlier, on July 31, a bench led by Chief Justice B. R. Gavai had ordered the Speaker to decide the matter within three months. The bench described the Speaker’s non‑compliance as a severe form of contempt and served notices to the Speaker and others involved in the BRS petitions. It also sent a separate notice regarding a request from the Speaker’s office for an additional eight‑week extension to decide the disqualification cases.
The bench scheduled a further hearing for the issue after a four‑week interval.
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