Chennamaneni holds German passport, says MHA
The Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Telangana High Court on Friday that BRS leader and former Vemulawada MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh possesses a German passport valid till 2033. Additional Solicitor General B Narasimha Sarma disclosed this to Justice B Vijaysen Reddy during the hearing of a petition filed by Congress MLA Adi Srinivas. The petition raises concerns about Ramesh’s reacquisition of Indian citizenship allegedly by suppressing facts related to his German citizenship.
The Union government’s revelation disclosed that Ramesh made three visits to Germany in 2023 alone, utilising his valid German passport. The disclosure came in response to the court’s earlier directive to furnish the travel log of the BRS leader for the last one year.
Y Rama Rao, appearing for Ramesh, submitted a memo asserting that the former MLA had relinquished his German citizenship. However, it was clarified that possessing a German passport allows Ramesh to travel to Germany, highlighting the distinction between citizenship and a passport.
Congress MLA Adi Srinivas, represented by senior counsel V Ravi Kiran Rao, argued that acquiring a German passport implies holding German citizenship. He reminded the court of Ramesh’s previous claims of being stateless after relinquishing German citizenship while simultaneously facing suspension of his Indian citizenship by the MHA.
Ravi Kiran asserted that Ramesh currently holds both Indian and German passports, using the latter for travel. He urged the court to consider the discrepancy in Ramesh’s claims and questioned the validity of his Indian citizenship. After hearing both counsels, the court reserved its orders.
No relief for civic body chiefs facing no-trust motions
Justice T Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court on Friday refused to grant an interim stay in a batch of four writ petitions challenging the notices of no-confidence motion to chairpersons and vice chairpersons of various municipalities. The high court adjourned the matter for four weeks and issued notices to the authorities concerned, directing them to file their responses to the writ petitions.
The petitioners include Bhongir municipality chairman A Anjaneyulu and vice chairman Ch Kishtaiha, Kagaznagar municipal chairperson Md Saddam Hussain, and Nalgonda municipality chairperson Mandadi Saidi Reddy.
The petitioners sought a directive to the district collectors concerned and authorities responsible for issuing notices under Form No-II. They argued that the notices, issued under Rule 5 of the Telangana State Municipalities Motion of No-Confidence in the Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson Rules of 2008 and Section 37 of the Telangana State Municipalities Act of 2019, did not adhere to the due procedure outlined in the said legal provisions.
They contended that the decision to conduct a meeting to consider the no-confidence motion against them was made without following the prescribed procedures, rendering the notices illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional. They urged the court to set aside the impugned notices, asserting that no meeting can be conducted based on the flawed notices issued by the respondent authorities.