Speaker Nadendla Manohar is likely to act against the pro-Jagan Congress MLAs on or before Feb 8, hardly a week ahead of the budget session of the assembly to begin, according to sources.

After the congress lodged a complaint with the Speaker, he issued notices to the defiant congress MLAs who voted against the government during voting on the no-confidence motion but they have refused to attend a hearing in the presence of Speaker.

The MLAs, who are loyal to the YSR congress party, told the Speaker they would not attend the hearing and asked him to disqualify them from the assembly for defying the whip.

“You are witness to our defiance of the congress whip and you can take action against us. Why do you want to hear from us?” they told him.

Sources revealed that the Speaker may announce his decision before Feb 8 as the assembly budget session will begin on Feb 13.

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress party leaders are of the opinion that Nadendla Manohar has not taken a decision till now to ensure that the by elections to those constituencies would not be held simultaneously along with the by polls to the six vacancies in Telangana for which election schedule is yet to be announced by the Election Commission (EC).

If the Speaker disqualifies the pro-Jagan MLAs now, the EC may announce by polls to those constituencies also along with the 6 constituencies in Telangana and the Kovvur constituency. In such a case, by polls will be held in 26 constituencies and any adverse results will embarrass the congress leadership to the core.

“For this reason only, the Speaker is delaying the decision,” they said. (JUBS)