Telangana MLA Alleges Procedural Lapses In Assembly, Writes To Speaker

Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA T Harish Rao has written to the Telangana assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, alleging "several serious procedural lapses" that he claims have fundamentally undermined the legislature's constitutional mandate and credibility over the last two years.

The letter, released today, also points out the delay in adjudicating disqualification petitions against BRS MLAs who have allegedly defected to the ruling Congress party, a move seen as a significant escalation in the already strained relationship between the BRS and the Speaker's office.

Former legislative affairs minister Rao's detailed representation, written on the occasion of the Speaker's two-year anniversary in office, outlines eight critical areas of non-compliance with the assembly's rules of procedure.

The assembly has significantly reduced its number of working days, violating Rule "12," which requires sittings for the state's business, and contravening the spirit of legislative accountability, he says.

The letter highlights that these crucial mechanisms for executive oversight have not been conducted in accordance with Rules "38 to 52" and "53 to 62," with starred questions being ignored and supplementary questions restricted.

The mandatory furnishing of written replies to unstarred questions to MLAs within the prescribed timeframe, as required by Rules "39" and "41," has been consistently violated, the letter points out.

A "particularly grave lapse," according to Rao, is the failure to constitute several house committees for nearly two years, contrary to Rules "196," "198," and "227," which he argues has severely weakened legislative scrutiny.

The prolonged non-appointment of the deputy speaker, mandated by Rule "8", has rendered the privileges committee non-functional, leaving "numerous privilege matters pending" and violating Rules "256" and "257", he argues.

The most politically charged point of contention is the "prolonged delay" in ruling on pending disqualification petitions against BRS MLAs who are seen to have crossed over to the Congress.

The BRS has filed petitions seeking the disqualification of at least 10 of its MLAs who shifted allegiance to the ruling party.

Rao explicitly mentions the violation of the Telangana Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986, and judicial precedents like the one set by the Supreme Court in Keisham Meghachandra Singh vs Speaker, Manipur Legislative Assembly.

"The pendency of these petitions violates Article 191(2)," the letter states, adding that continued non-compliance "undermines constitutional morality and public confidence."

The BRS's repeated appeals in this matter, including contempt petitions, point to a deep-seated suspicion that the delays are deliberate and politically motivated to benefit the treasury benches.

Recent reports confirm the severity of the situation, noting that the Supreme Court has already issued strong warnings to the Telangana Speaker, at one point threatening "gross contempt" for the failure to decide on the disqualification pleas within a court-mandated deadline.

The Supreme Court had observed that it would not allow a situation where the "operation is successful, [but] the patient dead", a reference to defecting MLAs completing their term while petitions gather dust.

This ongoing judicial and political friction has cemented the perception of a non-cooperative stance from the Speaker's office, further fueling the BRS' narrative that the legislative institution is being misused to weaken the opposition.

To correct the alleged lapses, Rao concluded his letter with an eight-point request for "immediate corrective action", including, ensuring the assembly functions for at least 30 working days in a year, furnishing all unstarred question replies within the mandated timeframe, constituting all house committees without further delay, disposing of all pending disqualification petitions, initiating the process for the election of the Deputy Speaker, reactivating the Privileges Committee, enforcing decorum and the rules of procedure in the House's functioning and restoring the proper conduct of Question Hour and Zero Hour.

The letter, addressed to the Speaker and copied to the Minister for Legislative Affairs, puts the onus directly on the ruling establishment to restore procedural fairness and uphold the integrity of the state legislature.