KTR accuses Congress government in Telangana of trampling on Constitution

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president KT Rama Rao has slammed the Congress government in Telangana, accusing it of trampling on the Constitution, luring BRS MPs and spreading fear among the opposition.

“Congress is not a paragon of virtue. It is the other side of the coin. Same story in Telangana 1) Luring BRS MPs 2) Misusing 10th Schedule 3) Instilling fear (police, vigilance) 4) Massive corruption by CM And @RahulGandhi Ji keeps posing with Constitution while his CM is ruthlessly trampling on it,” KTR posted on X in response to Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal’s post leveling the same allegations against the BJP-led central government.

After the BRS’s drubbing in the last Assembly elections, nine of its MLAs quit the party and joined the Congress. These MLAs include T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada), Danam Nagender (Khairatabad), Kale Yadaiah (Chevella), Dr Sanjay Kumar (Jagtial), Kadiam Srihari (Ghanpur Station), Tellam Venkat Rao (Bhadrachalam), Arekapudi Gandhi (Serilingampalli) and Gudem Mahipal Reddy (Patancheru).

Gadwal MLA B Krishna Mohan Reddy had also left the BRS and joined the Congress. But he returned to the BRS less than a month after joining the Congress.

The BRS working chairman was reacting to the post of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who had raised doubts over the Karntaka High Court’s order dismissing CM Siddaramiah’s appeal challenging the Governor’s sanction for prosecution in the alleged MUDA fraud.

On Tuesday, Kapil Sibal posted on X: “Now Karnataka. The BJP’s cunning ways to destabilise and topple elected governments: 1) Luring MLAs 2) Misusing Tenth Schedule 3) Fear mongering (ED, CBI) 4) Governors acting outside their constitutional responsibilities then say, ‘For BJP, Constitution is more than Gita’!”

Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Sibal said there is nothing in the Constitution that says the Governor can impose sanctions in case of prosecution.

“There is no provision in the Constitution that the Governor can impose sanctions for prosecution. That is why the Supreme Court has clarified that if there is a case against the Chief Minister, the Governor is the competent authority to impose sanctions because a Cabinet belongs to the Chief Minister himself, but ‘when’ a person can be prosecuted and what process should be followed is not provided in the Constitution,” Sibal said.

Stressing the need for a proper investigation process, he said: “How can the Governor, without any magistrate’s investigation, decide that the allegations against the accused are true? In cases of private complaints, it is the magistrate who decides whether a rule has been violated. Can the Governor in this situation, without the input of the magistrate, decide whether a criminal offence has been committed?”