Congress to axe 16 Jagan camp MLAs

HYDERABAD: The Congress high command has taken a crucial decision of disqualification of its 16 MLAs who supported the no-trust motion moved by TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in the state Assembly on December 5. After meeting AICC president Sonia Gandhi and party AP affairs incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi on Saturday, the chief minister said the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) would petition the Assembly speaker under the 10th Schedule 2, 1B of the Disqualification Act seeking action against the MLAs who defied the whip.���������

The CLP will meet soon in this regard and is likely to file the disqualification petition against the Jagan camp MLAs on Tuesday.

The chief minister is understood to have explained to the party high command the opinion of senior members of his cabinet that the disqualification of Jagan camp MLAs should be done at one go as they felt that any delay would only give an opportunity to the YSR Congress party chief to campaign that the ruling party was afraid of losing byelections.

The chief minister is also said to have explained to the party leadership the advantages and disadvantages of disqualification of Jagan loyalists.

After protracted deliberations, it was decided to axe the MLAs regardless of how the Congress would fare in the byelections and even if the action� indirectly helps Jagan to increase his party's strength in the Assembly from the present one.

The PRP has already filed a disqualification petition against Allagadda MLA B Shobha Nagireddy for violating the party whip and siding with Jagan during the no-confidence motion.� But Shobha says she is not bound by the PRP whip as the party does not exist after its merger with the Congress. She says since she had already petitioned the speaker and the Election Commission to recognise her as either a PRP MLA or an Independent since she opposed the PRP's merger with the Congress and she cannot be disqualified now.

Asked how many seats the Congress would win in the bypolls, Kiran Kumar Redy did not hazard a guess. "I do not indulge in guessing like you (media) do. Let there be elections first. Results will come only later, right," he asked and made light of the allegation of Jagan that the Congress leaders tried to induce his loyalist MLAs.

"If the Congress has to lure the MLAs, then it is the most unfortunate situation and it will never come to the party. Let them (J camp) disclose what they had offered to the Congress MLAs to switch sides," Kiran Kumar Reddy said.

At the time when the Jagan camp dared Kiran Kumar Reddy to disqualify the 16 MLAs, it appeared to be under the impression that he might not go for disqualification because of fear of losing the byelections. The chief minister's announcement has made them pull up their socks and prepare for the byelections.

Jagan who sounded the bypoll bugle the very next day of the no-confidence motion while touring Prathipadu constituency in Guntur represented by his supporter Sucharita who voted against the government, said he was sure that the people would elect her hands down.