On Tuesday, the State Government and four ministers were issued notices by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The notices are pertaining to a petition challenging their induction in the state cabinet. The High Court, on issuing the notices, asked them to file counter affidavits. Within a four week time, the High Court adjourned the hearing.
The notices have been issued to N. Amarnath Reddy, C. Adinarayana Reddy, R.S. Krishna Ranga Rao and Bhuma Akhila Priya. These people were inducted into the cabinet in April after they defected to the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from the YSR Congress Party.
The High Court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which was filed by a journalist, Sivaprasad Reddy, challenging their induction. The petitioner had argued the induction of the defected legislators in the ministry was not constitutional.
The court is hearing a separate Public Interest Litigation from the same petitioner challenging the induction of T. Srinivas Yadav in the Telangana cabinet. Srinivas Yadav was elected as a legislator of the TDP. After he switched loyalties to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, he was made a Minister.
This year, in the month of April, YSRCP Chief, Jaganmohan Reddy met the President, Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi regarding the issue.
Jagan claimed the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu has no respect for the Constitution and the Democratic Spirit. Further, he alleged the TDP was welcoming the defectors with open arms with an assurance that they would not be disqualified. He also pointed out that Naidu cried when the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government had inducted MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who defected to their party from the TDP, into the Telangana Cabinet in December 2014.
“Mr. Naidu, shockingly, let loose a reign of terror using the police against the opposition and it is to the knowledge of everybody that the National Council for Applied Economic Research ranked AP under Mr. Naidu as the most corrupt state in India,” a letter submitted to the President, stated.
