Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram disqualifies 4 MLAs each of YSRCP, TDP

AMARAVATHI: Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram on Monday disqualified four eight rebel MLAs -- four each from the ruling YSR Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam.

While the TDP had given petition seeking disqualification of the four legislators elected on the party ticket, but began acting as associate members of the YSR Congress after the elections without resigning from the TDP. Resignation would attract the provisions pof the Anti-Defection Law and the MLAs would have lost their membership. Four MLAs of the YSR Congress, however, switched their allegiance to the TDP only after it became clear for them that the party was not going to renew their candidacies in the upcoming Assembly elections.

The MLAs have been critical of their respective parties and began being pally with their rival parties.

The MLAs who lost their memberships from the YSR Congress are:

♦️Anam Ramanarayana Reddy - Venkatagiri in Nellore district

♦️Undavalli Sridevi - Tadikonda (Guntur district)

♦️Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy - Nellore Rural

♦️Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy - Udayagiri in Nellore district

The four MLAs, elected on the TDP ticket, who were disqualified by the Speaker are:

♦️Maddali Giridhara Rao - Guntur West

♦️Karanam Balaramakrishna Murthy - Chirala in Prakasam district

♦️Vallabhaneni Vamsi - Gannavaram in Krishna district

♦️Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar - Visakhapatnam South

The Speaker issued notices to the MLAs concerned followed by the complaints from their respective legislature parties. After portracted arguments, the Speaker took the decision just a couple of months before the Assembly elections.