HYDERABAD: Brushing off criticism from the BRS over the appointment of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu on Tuesday said that the Assembly Speaker made the appointment following established procedure and rules.
Speaking to reporters here, Sridhar Babu said that it was inappropriate for BRS leaders to speak critically of the Speaker, to the point where their comments appeared insulting. He said that no one has the right to question the Speaker’s decision.
“Arekapudi Gandhi has clarified that he is a BRS MLA and has not joined the Congress. If there are any differences among BRS leaders, it has nothing to do with us,” Sridhar Babu said. He stated that the BRS lacked the moral right to speak on Constitutional values.
“BRS leaders should respect Constitutional institutions first before making such comments,” the minister said. He said that though the BRS lost power eight months ago, it has not changed its attitude.
Responding to the high court directive to the Legislature Secretary to place the disqualification petitions before the Speaker, Sridhar Babu said that there are discussions across the country regarding the extent courts can issue orders to the Legislative. He said that the 10th schedule of the Constitution does not specify a timeframe to decide on disqualification petitions.
Incidentally, BJP Legislative Party Leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy demanded the Congress government make a decision on the defector MLAs as per the directives of the court. He said that the BJP was opposed to the Speaker’s decision to appoint a “defector” as PAC chairman.
