Andhra speaker disqualifies 16 Jagan loyalists

Hyderabad - Ending the long suspense, the Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker Friday disqualified 16 rebel lawmakers belonging to the ruling Congress party who were loyal to Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

The speaker has also accepted the resignation of another Jagan loyalist Shoba Nagi Reddy of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).

A statement about the disqualification was released from the office of speaker Nandendla Manohar Friday night.

Congress had sought the disqualification of the legislators for violating the party whip and voting in favor of opposition Telugu Desam Party's no-confidence motion against the government in the assembly last December.

With the speaker's move, 17 seats in 294-member house have fallen vacant. The election commission will now initiate the process to fill the vacancies by holding by-elections within six months.