The issue of the Telangana Speaker delaying the disqualification petitions of defected MLAs came up before the Supreme Court today. The court expressed strong anger at the Speaker for sitting on the matter despite earlier instructions to decide it without delay.
The Supreme Court warned that the Speaker must either decide the case or face contempt. The bench said he does not enjoy constitutional immunity while handling disqualification matters. The court added that he must choose whether to finish the process before next week or deal with contempt.
This reaction is unusual because the Supreme Court rarely acts against a Speaker under constitutional grounds. Even during Uddhav Thackeray's fall after Eknath Shinde's revolt, the court was unable to interfere as the Speaker delayed the disqualification pleas and helped the new government.
If the Speaker responds to the warning and disqualifies the defected MLAs, Telangana will head for by-elections in at least ten constituencies. The BRS moved the Supreme Court earlier, expecting anti-incumbency to help them. But the situation on the ground tells a different story.
The recent Jubilee Hills by-election showed that the BRS misread public sentiment. The party struggled against the strength of the ruling party's machinery. This makes the coming by-elections difficult for the BRS if they actually happen.
Whichever party wins most seats in these by-elections will gain strong momentum. The current mood inside BRS is at an all-time low. Revanth Reddy may even push for local elections in December, which could further weaken the BRS if the ruling party wins again.
Losses in these elections would reflect poorly on KTR, who led the legal push for disqualification. The Supreme Court has posted the matter for hearing after two weeks. The next hearing will decide how the situation moves forward in Telangana.