Telangana speaker issues notice to MLA Kadiam Srihari on disqualification plea by BRS

Hyderabad, Nov 22 (PTI) Telangana Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has issued a notice to MLA Kadiam Srihari, who is facing a disqualification petition filed against him by BRS, for allegedly switching over to the ruling Congress.

The Speaker asked Srihari to respond by November 23, but the MLA sought more time to submit his reply, official sources said on Saturday.

Srihari is among 10 BRS MLAs against whom the opposition party has filed disqualification pleas.

The Supreme Court, on November 17, issued a contempt notice to the Telangana speaker for not complying with its directive to decide on disqualification pleas against 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress.

On July 31, a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai had directed the assembly speaker to decide in three months the matter of the disqualification of the 10 MLAs.

The bench termed the non-compliance of its earlier directions as the “grossest kind of contempt” while issuing notices to the speaker and others on the pleas filed by the BRS leaders.

The bench also issued notice on a separate plea filed on behalf of the office of the speaker seeking extension of time by eight more weeks to decide the disqualification pleas.

The hearing on four disqualification pleas are complete and in three cases recording of evidence has concluded, one of the lawyers appearing for the Speaker's office had said.

The bench on November 17 posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.

Srihari's daughter Kadiam Kavya was elected as Congress Lok Sabha member from Warangal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. PTI SJR GDK SJR ROH