Hyderabad, March 5 – Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar held hearings on Thursday on petitions seeking the disqualification of two BRS MLAs who are alleged to have switched their allegiance to the ruling Congress in 2024.
The Speaker concluded the hearing on the petition for the disqualification of Kadiyam Srihari and postponed the hearing on the petition for the disqualification of Danam Nagender to Saturday.
He directed both the petitioners and the MLA to appear for the hearing on Saturday.
BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy and BJP MLA Maheshwar Reddy have filed petitions for the disqualification of Nagender.
The Speaker concluded the hearing on the petition filed by BRS MLA K. P. Vivekanand for the disqualification of Srihari.
With the hearing now scheduled for Saturday, the Speaker is expected to complete the process. The orders on the petitions are likely to be announced later.
The Speaker has dismissed petitions for the disqualification of eight out of 10 BRS MLAs who are alleged to have switched their allegiance to the Congress in 2024.
In December 2025, he dismissed petitions for the disqualification of five MLAs – Tellam Venkat Rao, Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, and Arekapudi Gandhi.
He dismissed the petitions for the disqualification of Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Kale Yadaiah on January 15.
On February 4, the Speaker dismissed the petition for the disqualification of BRS MLA Sanjay Kumar.
In all the cases, the Speaker ruled that the petitioners failed to provide evidence that the MLAs defected to the Congress, making it clear that the Anti-Defection Act could not be applied.
While the BRS had complained that the 10 MLAs openly joined the Congress and even sat in the Treasury Benches in the Assembly, the MLAs denied that they joined the ruling party.
They contended that they only met Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to seek funds for the development of their constituencies.
On February 6, the Supreme Court gave a final opportunity to the Speaker to decide the remaining disqualification petitions against BRS MLAs.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and A.G. Masih directed the Speaker to "positively" decide on the pending petitions within three weeks.
"We expect the Speaker to positively take a decision, failing which we shall proceed to issue contempt," the Justice Karol-led Bench ordered.
The apex court was hearing contempt petitions arising out of non-compliance with its July 31, 2025, order, by which it had granted three months to the Speaker to decide the disqualification pleas against 10 BRS MLAs who allegedly crossed over to the Congress.
