Hyderabad: Deploring the way the Anti-Defection Law is being abused by parties in power, Leader of the Opposition in TS Assembly K. Jana Reddy on Thursday demanded the Prime Minister bring an amendment to Constitution as well as the Anti-Defection Act to ensure automatic disqualification of legislators who defect.
Speaking to the media at the Gandhi Bhavan on Thursday here, Mr Jana Reddy said the practice adopted both by the Legislator and the ruling party would be unethical as long as the defector doesn’t resign from the membership of the House. He reminded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had himself resigned from the membership of the House when he quit the Telugu Desam to float the TRS. Mr Jana Reddy also reminded that even he had resigned from his post before joining the Congress after leaving the TD in 1989.
Criticising the way Congress MLA Chittem Rammohan Reddy was admitted into TRS without his resignation from the membership of the Assembly being sought, the CLP leader said, “If leaders like Chandrasekhar Rao think whatever they do is correct and ethical, tomorrow some other party, after coming to power, will resort to similar practices with renewed vigour. If this happens, what answer will the TRS offer?”
He said there was problem if legislators change parties, but they need to the rules and procedures. Mr Jana Reddy deplored the way the Assembly Speaker is keeping all disqualification petitions filed by the Congress pending for years and said that this enhances the urgent need to amend the Constitution and the laws and introduce a rule that automatically disqualifies the member.
