Hyderabad:

A remark by a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), asking the party’s defectors to wear saree and bangles, has drawn a sharp retort from a Congress leader, who warned that he will be beaten up with footwear if he insults women.

Telangana BJP MLA P Kaushik Reddy was addressing a press conference when he showed a saree and bangles and told the MLAs defecting to the ruling Congress to wear them. Naming the MLAs, he said, “You are not men, so wear these and go around.”

A total of 10 MLAs have defected from the BRS, which lost power in the state in the Assembly election last year, to the Congress.

Responding to this, Congress leader Bandru Shoba Rani addressed the media and showed a shoe. Accusing Mr Reddy of insulting women, she said, “You showed saree and bangles. I will show you footwear. We will beat you up with footwear if you insult women,” said the Congress leader, who is the chairperson of the state women’s co-operative development corporation Chairman and a state Congress vice president.

The BRS has demanded the disqualification of all 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress after the election.

The matter has also reached the Telangana High Court. On Monday, the high court asked the Assembly Secretary to place the disqualification petitions of three BRS MLAs, who had joined the Congress, before Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar. The three MLAs in question are Danam Nagender, Tellam Venkat Rao and Kadiyam Srihari. The court has asked the Speaker’s office to issue a schedule within four weeks of hearing and deciding on the petitions.

BRS Working President K T Rama Rao has said the court’s directive is a victory for democracy. “Now, the honorable Speaker Garu has 4 weeks to restore transparency and uphold the sanctity of the House. We fought relentlessly for this moment, no more betrayal of the people’s mandate! Jai Telangana!,” said Mr Rao, son of BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, said in a post on X.