Hyderabad: Senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader T Harish Rao has written an open letter to Rahul Gandhi, accusing the Congress party of adopting “double standards” on protecting the Constitution amid the ongoing controversy over defections in Telangana.
The letter comes against the backdrop of developments in the Supreme Court of India, which on Thursday disposed of contempt petitions alleging non-compliance with its earlier order directing the Telangana Assembly Speaker to decide disqualification pleas against MLAs who defected from the BRS to the ruling Congress.
Supreme Court orders Speaker to share decision
A Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and AG Masih closed the contempt proceedings after being informed that the Speaker had now taken decisions on all the pending disqualification petitions.
The court directed the Speaker’s office to provide a copy of the decision to the petitioners by Friday and to furnish the entire record of the proceedings within four days.
“The Office of the Speaker shall supply the order by tomorrow and the entire material to the petitioners within four days,” the Justice Karol-led Bench ordered while disposing of the matter.
The apex court had earlier, on July 31, 2025, granted three months to the Speaker to decide disqualification petitions against 10 BRS MLAs accused of defecting to the Congress after the party came to power in Telangana in 2023.
Arguments before the court
Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Telangana government, told the court that the Speaker had now taken decisions on all the pending petitions, making the contempt proceedings unnecessary.
Singhvi also informed the court that some of the Speaker’s decisions had already been challenged before the Telangana High Court.
However, counsel for the petitioners argued that copies of the Speaker’s orders had not yet been provided to them and alleged that the delay was being used to stall further legal remedies.
Taking note of this submission, the court directed that the orders and the complete record be shared within the stipulated timeframe.
Background of the defection dispute
The dispute relates to the alleged defection of 10 BRS MLAs — including Danam Nagender, Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, and Tellam Venkat Rao — who joined the Congress after the party formed the government in the state.
In December last year, the Speaker rejected seven of the 10 disqualification petitions after the Supreme Court made strong observations on delays in deciding the cases, while the remaining pleas were decided later.
Harish Rao’s letter
Referring to the defection controversy, Harish Rao questioned the Congress leadership’s commitment to constitutional principles. In his open letter to Rahul Gandhi, he alleged that the Congress cannot claim to defend the Constitution nationally while allowing actions in Telangana that, according to him, weaken the anti-defection framework.
The BRS leader specifically cited the case of Danam Nagender, who was elected as an MLA on a BRS ticket but later contested the Lok Sabha election with a Congress B-Form.
Harish Rao said he had already written to the Speaker seeking action under the anti-defection provisions and urged Rahul Gandhi to advise the Congress government in Telangana to act against the MLA.
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