Speakers rejects T-MPs' resignations

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Tuesday rejected the resignations of 12 MPs from the Telangana region who resigned to their post demanding statehood for the region. However, there was confusion over the status of the resignation submitted by Bhongir MP Komatireddy Rajagopal.

The MPs who submitted resignations on July 4 for the cause of Telangana include nine from Congress party and two each from the TDP and TRS. The resignations were not accepted as they were not in proper format. However, sources say that these MPs have signed the Lok Sabha documents, attended meetings and a few them even went abroad in the capacity of  Lok Sabha members. These acts were believed to have led the Speaker to assume that the MPs were not serious about their resignations.

Of the 12 MPs, eight belonged to Congress and two each from TDP and TRS. The Congress MPs whose resignations were rejected by the Speaker are Ponnam Prabhakar, G S Reddy, M Jagannath, S Rajaiah, P Balram Nayak, G Vivekanand, Suresh Shetkar and Madhu Goud Yakshi. The resignations of TDP MPs Ramesh Rathod and Nama Nageswara Rao and TRS MPs K Chandrashekar Rao and Vijayashanti have also been rejected. The Speaker has conveyed her decision to the MPs through joint secretary of parliament.

On October 12, eight Congress MPs were summoned by the Speaker to seek clarification on their resignations. "I heard you and seized of the matter," this is what the Speaker told the Congress MPs during the meeting.

Earlier there were reports that the Speaker has also rejected the resignation of Congress MP Mekapati Rajamohan, who resigned in protest against the inclusion of former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s name in Central Bureau of Investigation's case into the alleged illegal assets of Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy. However, the report was neither confirmed nor denied by the Speaker's office.