The three MLAs of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi who were suspended from the party for resorting to cross voting during the recent Legislative Council elections, on Sunday maintained their innocence and stated that they were punished for no fault of their own.
Speaking to media persons at the Somajiguda Press Club, the three MLAs maintained that they had cast their votes in favour of the candidate named by the party. The MLAs said that they voted for the official TRS candidate Mohd Mahmood Ali, according to the Whip issued by the party.
The three MLAs, K Vidyasagar Rao from Korutla, E Ravinder Reddy from Yellareddy and Kaveti Sammaiah from Sirpur appealed to the TRS politburo and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao to reconsider the decision to suspend them.
Mr Vidyasagar Rao said that he would ready to commit suicide if his crime proved with substantial evidence. “The people from Korutla constituency can hang me if I am proved guilty,” he stated. He asked KCR to conduct probe into the issue and identity the culprits behind his suspension.
Mr Kaveti Sammaiah alleged that some section of people gave wrong information to party leaders about the cross-voting. “We have not committed any mistake. We voted as per the party directions. That is why we gave our resignation letters to KCR”, he stated.
They suspended MLAs said that they would not leave the party and continue their agitation for the statehood despite their suspension. “The MLA posts are not important for us. Our ultimate goal is achieving Telangana for the people of the region. We are willing to make any sacrifice for the cause of Telangana state formation,” they asserted.