Dr K A Paul welcomes Danam Nagender’s disqualification by Telangana HC and urges authorities to examine similar cases involving other BRS MLAs
Hyderabad: Praja Shanti Party president Dr. K. A. Paul has welcomed the Telangana High Court’s verdict disqualifying Danam Nagender as an MLA and urged authorities to examine other cases involving BRS legislators who moved towards the Congress.
The Telangana High Court overturned the Assembly Speaker’s earlier decision in Nagender’s case and declared his Assembly seat vacant. The court directed the authorities to communicate its order to the Assembly Speaker and the Election Commission.
Danam Nagender Disqualified Under Anti-Defection Law
Nagender won the Khairatabad Assembly constituency on a BRS ticket in the 2023 Telangana Assembly election. He subsequently joined the Congress and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Secunderabad on a Congress ticket.
The High Court declared him disqualified with effect from April 23, 2024, the date associated with his candidature in the Lok Sabha election.
Paul Refers to 2024 PIL
Dr. Paul said he had filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Telangana High Court in 2024 concerning 10 BRS MLAs who had subsequently moved towards the Congress. He said Danam Nagender was one of the legislators named in the petition.
Paul said the remaining matters should go through the appropriate legal process.
“There are other MLAs whose cases involve similar circumstances. I urge the competent authorities to examine those matters without political considerations and take whatever action is warranted under the Constitution and applicable law,” he said.
Calls for Individual Examination of Cases
Paul said authorities should examine the remaining cases according to their individual facts and applicable constitutional provisions.
He also said the issue relates to the credibility of India’s electoral and constitutional institutions.
Paul referred to previous judicial developments involving elected representatives, including the 1975 Allahabad High Court judgment concerning Indira Gandhi and proceedings related to defections involving BSP legislators in 2007.
He said those developments demonstrate the importance of constitutional accountability while stressing that authorities must decide every case according to its own facts and applicable law.
“Political parties and governments may change, but the Constitution remains. The electoral mandate belongs to the people, and every elected representative has a responsibility to respect the constitutional framework under which that mandate was received,” he said.
The Telangana High Court’s ruling has left the Khairatabad Assembly seat vacant.
