New Delhi: A day after four Rajya Sabha lawmakers of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) switched over to the BJP, a group of MPs of the Andhra party submitted a written complaint to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday.
YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh, Garikapati Mohan Rao and TG Venkatesh on Thursday were inducted into the BJP. The four had also met Naidu and urged him to approve the merger of the TDP Legislature Party with the saffron party in the Upper House.
Jayadev Galla, one of the TDP MPs who met Naidu on Friday, said that the merger of a political party can take place only at an organisational level, as per the Tenth Schedule in the Constitution.
"The four members have further claimed to have conducted a meeting of the TDP Legislature Party in Rajya Sabha on June 19 to pass the resolution to merge with the BJP,” said the letter to Naidu. “I would like to bring to your kind notice that the TDP Legislature Party in the Rajya Sabha consists of six members and no notice had been sent to the members with regard to the convening of the said meeting. Hence, it may be considered that no such meeting has been conducted.”
“Yesterday, four Rajya Sabha members of TDP had given a letter saying that they are merging the legislature party in Rajya Sabha and since they have 2/3rd majority, it should be accepted without any disqualification,” said Galla. “Having gone through the law, what we now understand is that the merger of a political party has to take place at only organisational level. It cannot take place at the legislature party level. Since the TDP and the BJP have not merged at the organisational level, this is not a legal merger.”
"Since there has been no organisational merger between the TDP and the BJP, their resolution for merger of the TDP Legislature Party in the Rajya Sabha with that of the BJP should be rejected at the outset,” the letter added.
Galla said the TDP representatives had explained this to Naidu. “He said he will review the legalities of it and do whatever is necessary according to the law. We have to wait and see,” said Galla. “We have given the letter, we’ll be giving a copy of the letter to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister also.”
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, currently in Europe, on Thursday put up a brave face after the rebellion, which came close on the heels of his party's humiliating defeat in the recent Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Naidu spoke to his party leaders over phone, saying that such troubles are not new to the organisation.
Naidu had accused the four MPs of joining the BJP to "address their own personal agendas". The party had also said it was exploring possible legal options.
'More Congress, TDP leaders in touch with BJP'
Meanwhile, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao on Friday claimed that many more leaders were in touch with the party and it will occupy the principal opposition space in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh within two years.
"In the coming days, there will be a lot of changes in Telangana's political scenario. In both the Telugu states — Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — BJP is the only party which can fill the space of opposition in the next two years," he said.
"The Congress is a fast-disappearing party in Telangana. Day by day, hour by hour, it is getting reduced. Many leaders in the Congress as well as the TDP believe the BJP, under the leadership
of Narendra Modi alone, can fight against the TRS," Rao said.
Many senior leaders were in touch with the BJP and "they want to join the party. We, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, invite them to strengthen the party," Rao further claimed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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