The nomination of two Members of Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota has been an issue of contention between the previous BRS government and the Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan. The BRS Party is accusing that the Governor was acting at the behest of the BJP central government and was also trying to please the newly formed Congress state government. Let us take a closer look at what has transpired so far in this issue.
In July 2023, the BRS government nominated Dasoju Sravan and Kurra Satyanarayana as MLCs under the Governor quota. Despite both individuals possessing the required qualifications for nomination, the Governor unilaterally rejected their nominations in September 2023. The duo challenged the rejection in the High Court, and it has been reported that the Governor’s office issued a written statement, stating that the issue will remain in status quo until the court judgment.
However, the Governor accepted a new set of nominations recommended by the Congress government in January and later gazette notification was released declaring Kodandaram Reddy and Amer Ali Khan as MLCs. This decision was challenged in the High Court and then contested by the Congress-appointed MLCs.
Today, the High Court pronounced a landmark verdict that the Governor can’t reject the nominations sent by the Cabinet but can only seek additional information. The court quashed the appointment of Kodandaram Reddy and Amer Ali Khan as MLCs and it has also quashed the rejection of Dasoju Sravan and Kurra Satyanarayana as MLCs. The High Court emphasized that the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers while exercising powers.
The BJP-Congress nexus
The BRS Party has been criticizing that this episode has exposed the clear nexus between the BJP and the Congress. The BRS says while the Governor rejected the BRS nominees citing their political affiliation, the same person accepted the nominations of Congress candidates though Kodandaram Reddy is still active in his TJS Party activities. The party observes that the BJP-appointed Governor is going the extra mile to help the Congress government.
CM Revanth’s machiavellian politics
The other side of the story is CM Revanth Reddy’s machiavellian politics. Having known that the MLC issue is in a legal tussle, Revanth purportedly brought in the name of Kodandaram to make him a scapegoat. Anticipating that the judgment would take time, Revanth expected to score some political brownie points by nominating Kodandaram. But the strategy misfired as the judgment was not in the government’s favour. Now, Revanth finds himself in hot water.
The great fall of Kodandaram
Prof. Kodandaram Reddy as the chairman of Telangana JAC is a renowned personality in the state. After the state formation, despite the BRS Party inviting him to politics by offering him a respectable position, he rejected the offer to stay apolitical. Nevertheless, he formed his political party in 2017 and miserably failed.
Unfortunately, a man who was once highly regarded in Telangana has exhibited greediness for a mere MLC post. Although Kodandaram extended unconditional support to the Congress party, he was pitted against his Telangana movement colleague Dasoju Sravan. Instead of demanding Revanth for some other plum post, Kodandaram decided to take on Sravan in this legal battle. Kodandaram has no one but himself to blame in this political fight.
A copy of the judgment👇