TDP insists on disqualification for Pocharam

Telugu Desam Party MLA Payyavula Keshav on Tuesday demanded that Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar must serve a show-cause notice to Pocharam Srinivas, who represented Banswada constituency in Nizamabad district for ‘indulging in anti-party activities during the recent Legislative Council elections’, and disqualify him from the House under the Anti-Defection Law.

Talking to media persons at NTR Trust Bhavan, the MLA stated the party had submitted a petition to Nadendla Manohar demanding Mr Srinivas’s disqualification from the House.

“Why has the Deputy Speaker not yet issued a show-cause notice to Pocharam Srinivas for his anti-party activities and for violating the Whip issued by the Telugu Desam Party during the Legislative Council elections,” Mr Keshav questioned.

Appealing to Mr Manohar to issue show-cause notice to Mr Srinivas, the senior TDP leader said that he (Mr Srinivas) should be disqualified as this action would send a message to other MLAs that they could not expect to get away after resorting to anti-party activities.

Mr Keshav also lashed out at the Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders for extending open support to Mr Srinivas how ‘had openly defied the party diktat and was indulging in anti-party activities.’

The MLA from Banswada in Nizamabad district, who had quit the TDP and had joined Telangana Rashtra Samithi, had stated that had quit the party due to ambivalent stand of his parent party on Telangana issue. He had tendered his resignation from the Assembly to the Deputy Speaker and had staged a sit-in dharna to press Mr Manohar to accept his resignation.

However, the TDP has been trying to get Mr Srinivas disqualified from the House and use this disqualification as a weapon to discredit him.