Even as the sudden decision of Andhra Pradesh state assembly speaker Tammineni Seetharam to accept the resignation of Telugu Desam Party MLA from Visakhapatnam (north) Ganta Srinivasa Rao three years later, there are more surprises from the Speaker’s office.
According to reports, the Speaker has served notices on defected MLAs of the state assembly who changed parties in the last four and a half years, asking them to explain the reasons for their defection.
They include TDP legislators Vallabhaneni Vamsi, Karanam Balaram, Vasupalli Ganesh and Maddali Giridhar and Jana Sena Party MLA Rapaka Varaprasad who defected to the YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Similarly, notices were also served on the four YSRC MLAs – Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy, Vundavalli Sridevi, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and Anam Ramanarayan Reddy, who joined the TDP after they were suspended from the YSRCP.
The defected MLAs were asked to submit their explanations within seven days on why they had changed parties.
If they don’t give valid reasons, they would be disqualified from the assembly membership, sources said.
Though their disqualification makes any difference for them as the elections are just three months away, it would change the equations in the Rajya Sabha elections, as it would reduce the number of votes required for the election of each MP, sources said.