VIJAYAWADA: BJP floor leader P Vishnu Kumar Raju on Wednesday demanded the disqualification of MLAs who switched loyalties for political gains. Raju, a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), made the not-so-veiled attack on the TDP, which has taken in several YSRC MLAs, while speaking at the AP Legislative Assembly Committee Hall. Later, during an interaction with mediapersons at the YSRC LP Office along with PAC chairman Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, he opined that it was unethical to be elected MLA on one party’s ticket and then defect to another party to become a Minister.
“MLAs who got elected from the YSRC, but defected to the TDP for Ministerial berths should resign,” he said.
Either all turncoat MLAs should be disqualified or the government should formulate an Act allowing defectors to become Ministers, he said. The comment assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy offering to ally with the BJP if the saffron party-led NDA government at the Centre bestowed Special Category Status on Andhra Pradesh. However, not all members of the BJP have been welcoming Jagan’s offer.
A few leaders, including former Union Minister D Purandeswari, said the SCS was a closed chapter and Jagan had no business bringing it up. In an oblique reference to the YSRC, Endowments Minister P Manikyala Rao said the TDP-ally had a strong base and was in no need of anyone’s support. “However, we will accept it if other parties come forward to support the BJP,” he quickly added.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of the BJP leader’s remarks, TDP MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao said the MLAs who left YSRC to join the TDP had submitted their resignations to the AP Assembly Speaker. He asserted the decision of accepting or dismissing the resignations was in the hands of the Speaker, so the comments of the BJP leader were meaningless. He, however, made it clear that the opinions of individual leaders did not matter as the TDP and the BJP were close allies. When contacted, Raju admitted that the remarks were his personal views, but said anyone who had ethics would share a similar view on defections.