Two Telangana MLAs face privilege notice

Two Telangana MLAs Nagam Janardhana Reddy and Koppula Harishwar Reddy who had filed a police case claiming that Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker Nadendla Manohar was 'missing,' will be served with notices for privilege and contempt of the House, officials said.

The Speaker, who held a meeting with the two MLAs in his chambers on Tuesday over their resignations, informed them that he would issue a privilege as well as contempt of House notice to them for seeking to file a police case against him.

"I was on an official trip to England as part of the Indian delegation to the Commonwealth Presiding Officers conference and it was not a secret. How could you claim that I was not traceable," the Speaker reportedly questioned Janardhana and Harishwar Reddy.

This was not an issue to be taken lightly, the Speaker reportedly told the MLAs and asserted that he would act sternly on it.

Janardhana Reddy, a suspended legislator of Telugu Desam, and Harishwar, a rebel MLA of the party, went to the assembly last week to submit their resignations and when they realised the speaker was not there, they went to the Saifabad police station to lodge a complaint stating that the Speaker was "missing".

When the police refused to accept their complaint, the two legislators pasted the copy of their complaint on the gate of the police station.

Janardhana Reddy and Harishwar Reddy met the Speaker in his chambers on Tuesday evening over the issue of their resignations along with TDP rebel MLA Jogu Ramanna. Another TDP rebel MLA S Venugopalachari sent his resignation letter in a sealed cover to the Speakers office.

The Speaker met the three MLAs individually and recorded their statements to ascertain if the resignations were "genuine and voluntary".