Hyderabad, Jan. 31 -- Telangana assembly speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar on Friday conducted the hearing on two separate petitions seeking disqualification of Khairatabad lawmaker and former minister Danam Nagender for allegedly defecting from Bharat Rashtra Samithi to Congress in 2024, people familiar with the matter said.

The petitions were filed by BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party floor leader A Maheshwar Reddy, urging the speaker to invoke the anti-defection law and declare Nagender disqualified from the assembly.

During the hearing, lawyers representing Nagender conducted a cross-examination of Kaushik Reddy, questioning the basis on which the disqualification plea was filed and seeking clarity on the evidence supp...