In a major setback to the Congress in Telangana, the 12 party MLAs who defected to the TRS were recognised as members of the ruling party by Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Thursday.
The decision came hours after they met him and sought merger of their group with the TRS Legislature Party (TRSLP), claiming themselves to be the representatives of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
Later in the day, the Speaker acceded to the demand of the 12 MLAs, considering the fact that they constituted two-thirds of the total number of 18 MLAs.
Accordingly, seats were allotted to them along with TRS members in the House.
Unless the merger is reversed, the Congress is set to lose its status of Opposition party in the Assembly as its strength has come down to six.
Legislature Secretary V. Narasimha Charyulu issued a bulletin stating that the Speaker had taken note that the 12 Congress MLAs were deemed to have been merged with the TRSLP as per Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
The bulletin said the Congress MLAs addressed a letter to Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy that they constituted two-thirds of total members of Congress Legislature Party and that they be treated as members of TRSLP. The leader of TRSLP, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had communicated to the Speaker that the TRS had conceded their request and sought necessary action.
The MLAs earlier met TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao at Pragati Bhavan, apparently to seek his consent for the merger. Later, they went to the residence of the Speaker and submitted a memorandum.
The MLAs received a shot in the arm as Tandur MLA P. Rohith Reddy joined them, taking their number to 12. Till the Lok Sabha election, their strength was 11 out of 19, and they were waiting for two more MLAs to meet the mandatory norm of the two-thirds mark for merger to escape disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The 11 MLAs include Haripriya Naik, Athram Sakku, Rega Kantha Rao, Sabita Indra Reddy, Kandala Upender Reddy, D. Sudheer Reddy, Chirumarti Lingaiah, Jajula Surender, B. Harshvardhan Reddy, Vanama Venkateshwara Rao and Gandra Venkataramana Reddy.
The number required for the two-thirds strength came down to 12 against the original 13, with TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy resigning from Huzurnagar after he was elected as MP from Nalgonda. His resignation was accepted and the Assembly Secretary notified the vacancy.
