The political conduct of Narsapuram MP K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju attracts the provisions of the 10th Schedule of the Anti-Defection Law, according to YSR Congress Parliamentary Party leader V. Vijaya Sai Reddy.
Addressing the media after submitting a petition seeking Mr. Raju’s disqualification to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in New Delhi on Friday, Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy expressed the confidence that the Speaker would initiate prompt action on the petition.
Party MPs P.V. Midhun Reddy, M. Bharat, Lavu Sri Krishnadevarayulu and Nandigam Suresh were present.
Hoping that the Speaker wound emulate Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, who had said that the disqualification petitions should be disposed off within three months, Mr. Vijaya Sai said if Mr. Raju was confident of winning the election on his own, he should resign and seek re-election before the axe fell on him.
‘TDP behind episode’
Accusing Mr. Raju of acting at the behest of the TDP and the MPs who had defected from the TDP to the BJP, Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy said the Narsapuram MP could have sorted out the issues internally, but chose to take a stand publicly that would shake the very foundations of the party.
“Mr. Raju is physically present in the party, but his heart and soul are elsewhere,” Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy observed.
Asked whether the petition filed by Mr. Raju in the High Court would help him in scuttling the party’s move to disqualify him, Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy said the court could only check whether the decision taken by the Speaker was in tune with the constitutional tenets.
Mr. Midhun Reddy said it was unfortunate that Mr. Raju distanced himself from the party in spite of being given more importance than other senior MPs in the appointment of crucial parliamentary committees.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy himself recommended Mr. Raju to the parliamentary panels, but the latter damaged the party to protect his personal interests.