Telangana: PIL in SC to accept MLAs’ resignation

A petition was on Wednesday moved in the Supreme Court contending that the resignation submitted by the MLAs on the issue of Telangana be deemed to have been accepted by the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

The petition was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan which declined to advance the date of hearing from February 1 as listed by the registry.

The petition filed by former MP M. Narayana Reddy, claimed that it was filed on behalf of the MLAs, cutting across party lines, who resigned on the Telangana issue.

However, only Mr. Reddy has been named as a petitioner.

Senior advocate Subodh Markandeya, who mentioned the PIL on behalf of Mr. Reddy, claimed that MLAs belonging to Telangana irrespective of their political affiliations, submitted their resignations personally to the Speaker, who acknowledged receipt of 139 letters in this regard.

The petitioner claimed that more than 200 MLAs out of the total strength of 294 in the Assembly submitted letters of resignation but the Speaker has neither acted nor sent them to the Assembly Secretariat. The MLAs are from both Telangana and other parts of the state, he added.

He contended that the issue involved important questions of the constitution affecting its basic structure, namely the rights and privileges of the MLAs, their freedom of speech and expression and the dignity of the house.

“The arbitrary stoic silence of the respondent (Speaker of the house) has resulted in gross violation of Article 14, 19(1) (a) and 190 of the constitution,” the PIL said.

The court was told that resignations were submitted to the Speaker on December 10 and 23 last year.