A Special Court of Hyderabad trying cases against MPs and MLAs on Thursday passed an order directing Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasad Rao to appear before it on October 10. The direction was given in an elections related matter.
YSRCP leader from Karimnagar Singireddy Bhaskar Reddy earlier filed a petition in a local court there on this matter. In a television interview, Mr. Rao had reportedly stated that he had spent ₹11.5 crore in 2014 elections to get elected as MLA from Guntur district.
Citing this interview, Mr. Reddy filed a petition in the court in Karimnagar seeking action against the Speaker as the latter’s statement amounted to violation of election rules. He sought action against Mr. Rao by the Election Commission of India.
The case was transferred from Karimnagar court to the Special Court here. Mr. Rao, however, secured an order from the court for exemption from regular appearances in the case. The direction got vacated following a recent order of the Supreme Court that all such stay orders are deemed to be vacated within six months from the date of issuance.