Book Talasani for faking resignation, Ali demands

Hyderabad, July 19 (INN): A cheating case should be registered against Talasani Srinivas Yadav for lying about his resignation as TDP MLA before taking oath as minister, demanded Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress Legislature Party office here on Sunday, Shabbir Ali pointed out that an hour before taking oath as minister on December 16, 2014, Talasani addressed media announcing that he had resigned as TDP MLA from Sanathnagar. He had also displayed the resignation letter which was promptly covered by the entire media. "It was all drama. Talasani did not send any resignation letter and he misled and cheated everyone," he said. A simple RTI Application submitted by Congress leader Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy on June 29, 2015, has revealed that the Legislature Secretariat was not in receipt of any resignation letter from Talasani Srinivas Yadav.

"This is an open case of cheating wherein Talasani lied to become a minister. Assembly is a law-making body and it is the duty of all its members to protect the Constitution. By his act of cheating, Talasani has insulted the Constitution and desecrated the prestige of all law-making bodies like Assembly and Parliament. Besides registering a cheating case under Section.420, Talasani should be immediately disqualified and debarred from being a member of the House," Shabbir Ali demanded.

The Congress leader also asked Speaker S Madhusudan Chary to speak out his stand on the issue. "Despite receiving so many representations against Talasani for the last seven months, the Speaker kept mum and did not reveal that he was not in receipt of any resignation letter. He failed to maintain the sanctity of his position. As the truth is now out, the Speaker should take a decision on immediate basis to uphold the prestige of Assembly and his post," he demanded.

Shabbir Ali blamed Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for the biggest cheating in history of Indian politics. "He openly violated the Anti-Defection Law multiple times and showed no respect towards the Constitution. Right from Sarpanches, he encouraged leaders of opposition parties to the extent that he lured 12 MLCs and 13 MLAs into TRS. It was at his instance that Talasani faked the resignation letter," he alleged adding that KCR has set a bad precedent for a new State while giving false preaching on morality and ethics.

The Opposition Leader also questioned the role of Governor E.S.L.Narasimhan in the entire fiasco. "Being the Constitutional Head of the State, the Governor should have protected the Constitution. When a simple RTI application can reveal the status of Talasani's resignation letter, why did the Governor failed to check the position with authorities concerned? He too was in receipt of several representations against Talasani and did not act on any of them. He broke the Constitution by administering oath to Talasani, who was is still a TDP MLA. Now Mr. Narasimhan should act as per his conscience on whether or not to continue on his post of Governor as he himself has violated the constitution," he said.

Shabbir Ali announced that the Congress party would take up this issue at the national level and this matter would be raised in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

Earlier, addressing a separate press conference, Gandra Venkat Ramana Reddy released the letter to the media which he received in response to the RTI query with regard to Talasani's fake resignation.