Congress to flex muscles against govt on HC order

​Hyderabad: The Congress has decided to mount pressure on the State government for restoration of Assembly membership of its two MLAs whose expulsion has been set aside by the High Court. 

The party would submit memorandums to the Governor and to the President in this regard. Latter on, they would raise a nationwide discussion on the issue and would fight with the government till the membership of the MLAs are restored. 

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) which met on Saturday took decisions in this regard. The CLP would submit memorandums to the President of India and to Governor of the State.  

Two MLAs of the Congress Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and SA Sampath Kumar have been expelled from the Assembly on March 13. The action was taken by the Assembly in the mike hurling issue. 

The Congress challenged the decision in the High Court and a single judge bench has set aside it and directed the Assembly to treat the two MLAs as usual and to provide all the privileges they are entitled to.  However, the Assembly has so far not implemented the order and a few MLAs of the ruling TRS made an appeal before the division of bench of the High Court on the order of the single judge bench. 

Arguments on the case were concluded and the judgment was reserved.  On the other hand, the two MLAs were quite unhappy with the attitude of the party and have raised the issue in the PCC and CLP meetings. One of them, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, is now touring the US. 

The other MLA Sampath has raised serious objections to the indifferent attitude of the party. With this, the TPCC has decided to take agitation to mount pressure on the government. Initially they would meet the Governor and the President and if nothing happens, they would take up agitation programmes. 

The party leaders have decided that they would raise a nationwide debate on the expulsion issue and the negligence of the government in implementing the High Court’s order. 

A few leaders of the party have suggested to the PCC to have confrontation with the government on the issue. The MLAs will claim their position in the local programmes and if the officials refuse to heed them, then they would move a contempt petition in the court against the officers, according to sources.
 
The party will chalk out activities to be taken up after meeting the President and the Governor after the announcement of the judgment by the division bench of the High Court. 

Party leaders are of the view that the government was not inclined to implement the orders of the High Court and only way to execute the order was to take up agitation.