‘DISQUALIFIED’ BHUPATHI APPROACHES HC

Alleging that Legislative Council chairman Swami Goud is behaving in a partisan manner and issuing marching orders on disqualification petitions in a pick and choose manner upon the instructions of someone, the disqualified MLC R. Bhupathi Reddy on Saturday approached the High Court challenging the order against him.

Mr Reddy claimed that the grounds of defection did not apply to him as he had been unanimously elected as MLC from the Nizamabad local authorities constituency and not on the TRS symbol.

In his petition, he elaborated on the distinction between a person being a member of a party and a person getting elected on a party symbol. As his election was not based on a party symbol, Mr Bhupathi Reddy said, the disqualification petition filed against him by the TRS whips was liable to be rejected

Mr Reddy questioned the validity of Para 8 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and Rule 7(4) of the Members of Telangana Legislative Council (Disqualification on Grounds of Defection) Rules.