KCR pioneered defections in Telangana, says Congress

Hyderabad: Panchayat raj minister Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka, and MLC Addanki Dayakar on Wednesday said that BRS working president KT Rama Rao and BJP leaders have no moral right to comment on the speaker's decision to dismiss disqualification petitions against Danam Nagender and Kadiyam Srihari.They alleged that BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was the pioneer in engineering defections in the state. "On the other hand, the BJP toppled the democratically elected govts in various states. The speaker has certain powers and, based on the evidence provided before him, he took a decision," they said."KCR orchestrated the defection of 61 elected representatives during his two terms, initiating the culture of defections in the newly formed Telangana state. What's more, KCR, who was chief minister then, made defectors Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Sabitha Indra Reddy ministers in his cabinet," Seethakka alleged.MLC Addanki Dayakar claimed that the seeds of engineering defections were first sown by KCR. "KTR should look back at the history of KCR starting the culture of orchestrating defections before making sweeping statements against the assembly speaker," he said.Congress MLA Adi Srinivas said the trend of weakening democracy and crushing democratic values was started by the KCR-led BRS govt. "The incumbent Congress govt is restoring democracy and has reopened the dharna chowk at Indira Park, which was closed by the previous BRS govt. The people of Telangana know who mastered defections, and they gave their response in the form of a mandate in election after election," he said.