Telangana Assembly Speaker G. Prasad Kumar dismissed the disqualification petitions filed against five Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) MLAs, including Arekapudi Gandhi, accused of defecting to the ruling Congress. The Speaker also rejected petitions against Tellam Venkat Rao, Gudem Mahipal Reddy, T. Prakash Goud, and Bandla Krishnamohan Reddy. The Speaker was acting as chairman of the Tribunal handling 10 disqualification cases related to MLAs who allegedly joined Congress after the December 2023 elections. He kept decisions on three petitions in abeyance and has not heard two others despite BRS requests. Addressing the Gandhi petition, the Speaker noted the issue of who can file disqualification petitions. He said the petitioners must be authorised by the original party or state their capacity, which was not done. He observed, "The petitioner did not state in what capacity he filed the petition or how he acquired the right of action, as he is neither a voter of the constituency from which the respondent was elected nor specifically authorised in writing by the BRS party." The Speaker did not consider the Supreme Court's earlier ruling that "any person interested" can notify the Speaker about disqualification under the Tenth Schedule. This point is important as all petitioners here are BRS MLAs. The dismissals have angered BRS and BJP. BJP called the verdict "unilateral" and claimed the Speaker acted on Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's wishes, aligning with his statement that no bypolls would occur. BRS plans to explore legal options, citing the Supreme Court's observation that Speakers do not have constitutional immunity in disqualification cases. The Supreme Court had urged quick and fair decisions on such cases to prevent political defection. The verdicts on others remain awaited, keeping the political drama alive.