Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has strongly objected to the decision of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to restrict access to tribunal proceedings related to the disqualification of MLAs under the Tenth Schedule.

In a letter addressed to Speaker Gadam Prasad Kumar on Thursday, Sravan condemned the issuance of an Assembly bulletin, which prohibits citizens, advocates, media personnel, and even elected representatives from attending or observing the disqualification hearings.

Calling the move undemocratic, unconstitutional, and dictatorial, Sravan expressed anguish over what he described as a serious assault on the public’s right to know and the foundational values of constitutional morality.

The BRS leader said that both as a Member of the Legislative Council and a voter from one of the constituencies affected by political defection, he had a personal and political obligation to raise his voice.

He accused the Assembly Secretariat of shielding defected MLAs from public accountability by conducting proceedings in secrecy, thereby violating democratic norms and betraying the electorate.

Sravan described the secrecy as unjustified and likened it to “a cat drinking milk with its eyes closed, thinking no one is watching.” He said that such concealment in the functioning of a constitutional tribunal not only mocks the democratic process but also erodes public trust. The tribunal, he emphasised, is not a personal domain of the Speaker or the Chairman, but a constitutional forum entrusted with adjudicating issues of significant public importance.

He questioned why disqualification proceedings, which directly affect voter mandates, should be held behind closed doors when other constitutional and quasi-judicial forums such as the National Company Law Tribunal, High Courts, and even Constitution Benches of the Supreme Court livestream their hearings for the public.