The BJP on Friday described the Telangana High Court’s verdict disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender under the Anti-Defection Law as a major setback and a ‘slap in the face’ for the ruling Congress government.
Senior party leaders, including Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao and Legislature Party leader A. Maheshwar Reddy, said the judgment sent a strong message against political defections and attempts to undermine the people’s mandate.
Reacting to the verdict, Mr. Kishan Reddy alleged that both the Congress and the BRS had encouraged political defections and horse-trading for electoral gains. He claimed that the practice was initiated during the tenure of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and was now being continued by the Congress government.
Welcoming the judgment, Mr. Ramchander Rao said the verdict was a victory for democracy and the Constitution. He credited Mr. Maheshwar Reddy for consistently pursuing the matter in an effort to safeguard democratic values and ensure justice.
“The High Court’s decision to set aside the Speaker’s ruling is a significant step towards protecting democratic principles,” he said. Describing the judgment as historic, Mr. Rao remarked that it deserved to be “written in letters of gold” in the annals of Indian democracy. He further asserted that the ruling represented a moral, constitutional and legal defeat for the Congress party.
Mr. Maheshwar Reddy urged the Congress government to change its approach towards legislators who switched parties after being elected. He demanded that MLAs who had defected from other parties should resign from their seats and seek a fresh mandate from the people. A caveat will also be filed in the Supreme Court to prevent the legislator from appealing to the apex court, he added.
Published – September 18, 2026 08:31 pm IST
