T'gana: BJP meets Vice Prez against TRS RS MP

The BJP on Saturday alleged that TRS Rajya Sabha member K Keshava Rao acted against ethics by casting his vote as ex-officio member from Telangana in the recent municipal elections though he is a member in the upper House from Andhra Pradesh and urged Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to take action on the matter.

Keshava Rao was elected to the Rajya Sabha before the formation of Telangana and after its formation, he was declared elected from AP according to draw of lots held on May 30, 2014 as per section 13 of the 1st Schedule of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, the BJP said in a memorandum submitted to Naidu in New Delhi.

His term ends on April 9, 2020, BJP claimed.

It is clear that Keshava Rao represents Andhra Pradesh as member of Rajya Sabha and therefore he cannot register himself as member of another state, that too for the purpose of casting vote as an ex-officio member, it said.

Though Rao was elected from Andhra Pradesh, he illegally claimed that he was an ex-officio member under Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019 and he chose Tukkuguda Municipality and cast his vote in the municipality on January 27, 2020, it said.

His act to become an ex-officio member of the municipality is against the Telangana Municipalities Act since he is an outsider to the state, the memorandum claimed.

"This is a clear case of subversion of the constitution, and our repeated pleas to the (state) Election Commission to intervene in the matter to set the record straight, went in vain," it said.

The Telangana State BJP hasalreadyfiled a complaint with the SEC over the issue of legality, it said and urged the vice president to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee of the Rajya Sabha..

A "serious action" in this regard would serve as a lesson to all the members in future, it added.