Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar has dismissed disqualification petitions filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) against two legislators, Kale Yadaiah (Chevella) and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy (Banswada). They were accused of switching support to the ruling Congress. “I have issued orders dismissing the disqualification petitions filed against Kale Yadaiah and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy by the BRS,” said the Speaker, according to official sources. Meanwhile, disqualification petitions against three other MLAs—Kadiyam Srihari, Danam Nagendar, and M. Sanjay Kumar—are still pending. So far, the Speaker has rejected pleas against seven of the 10 BRS lawmakers facing anti-defection allegations. Last December, similar petitions against five other MLAs were also dismissed. The BRS had accused these MLAs of defecting to Congress after the 2023 elections. The party approached the Supreme Court, which issued a contempt notice to the Speaker in November 2025 for delaying decisions on disqualification. Reacting to the latest order, BRS working president K T Rama Rao criticized Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, saying they back defectors “without shame” and mock the Constitution. He accused Congress of pressuring and corrupting the Speaker, who should have disqualified the defecting MLAs. KTR called past protections of other defectors “undemocratic” and a betrayal of constitutional values. He said the defecting MLAs lost public legitimacy and are “former representatives” in the eyes of the people. He linked Congress’s fear of losing by-elections after poor Panchayat poll results to its attempts to save these MLAs. The BRS promised to intensify its political and legal fight to hold defectors and the Chief Minister accountable. The Congress rejected the BRS claims, stating the Speaker’s actions follow constitutional rules and called BRS allegations politically driven.