Congress produces evidence of whip defiance

HYDERABAD: Assembly Speaker N Manohar is expected to take a decision on disqualifying 16 Congress MLAs in the next 48 hours. After deposing before the speaker on Monday, government whip Kondru Murali Mohan said the process for disqualifying the 16 MLAs, who had voted against the government on the no-confidence motion, was completed. “The speaker will have to pronounce his verdict. We expect it in the next two days,’’ he said.The government whip, aided by a senior advocate, attended the hearing conducted by the speaker on Monday and presented the party’s case.During the three-hour submission, Murali Mohan explained how the 16 MLAs had violated the whip after receiving it. In evidence, he submitted copies of the whip as well as copies of the telegrams and acknowledgements.Murali Mohan said that the party had issued whip to all the Congress MLAs and it was pasted on the doors of the residences of three MLAs —Chennakesava Reddy, Kapu Ramachandra Reddy and Prasada Raju.Speaking to reporters later, the government whip said he thought that the disqualification process had been completed and he expected the speaker to pronounce his order in the next 48 hours.Making it clear that the Congress Legislature Party was not ready give relaxation to any one who violated the whip, he urged the speaker to disqualify all the 16 MLAs. Meanwhile, Kapu Ramachandra Reddy has once again written a letter to the speaker, claiming that he did not receive any whip from the CLP.