TRS name row: Telangana Rakshana Sena submits response to poll panel

Telangana Rakshana Sena formally responded to the ECI's notice on its name registration, following a Delhi High Court order. The party contests objections, including from BRS, over the name's similarity to the erstwhile TRS party.

Party Responds to ECI Notice

Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) on Sunday formally submitted its response to the Election Commission of India's (ECI) notice regarding the registration of the party, acting in strict accordance with the directives issued by the Delhi High Court on July 7.

This comes after ECI reportedly issued notices to K Kavitha following objections over the use of the party name "TRS".

Argument Against Name Change

As per the party, following the ECI's initial approval of the name "Telangana Rakshana Sena" via official communication on April 28, the party established organisational structures across nearly 105 Assembly Constituencies.

The party said the banner has already achieved massive public recognition and goodwill through extensive grassroots and administrative outreach. Requiring the party to abandon the name at this stage would cause severe prejudice and disrupt extensive on-ground operations.

Challenges Legitimacy of Objections

The ECI's communication dated June 23 references approximately 1,000 objections. However, copies of these objections have not been furnished to the party. Without access to these documents, the party's stakeholders are deprived of their right to evaluate the credibility of the claims and respond appropriately.

The reponse emphasised that the sheer "number" of objections should not dictate a name change without a qualitative review. The party has called for a thorough examination of the authenticity, uniqueness, and legal merit of these objections to verify whether they are genuine or politically orchestrated and repetitive.

Legal Argument on 'Deceptive Similarity'

"Currently, no political party by the name 'Telangana Rakshana Sena' exists in the official records of the Commission. The word 'Telangana' refers to a state, and 'Rakshana' is a common descriptive term in public discourse. No single entity can claim exclusive rights to these words, meaning the name cannot be deemed 'deceptively similar' to any existing party," the party said.

The names of Telangana Rakshana Samithi (Democratic), registered in 2024, and Telangana Rajya Samithi, registered in 2023, are distinct political names possessing separate nomenclature, pronunciation, composition, identity, leadership, organisation structure and public perception. The name Telangana Rakshana Sena conveys a distinct political identity in itself.

Request for Personal Hearing

The party requested a personal hearing and said, "In line with the principles of natural justice and the explicit order of the Delhi High Court, the response requested the Commission to fix a date for a personal hearing to present its arguments once the copies of the objections are formally provided."

The development comes after more than 1,100 complaints, including one reportedly filed by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), questioned the similarity between Kavitha's proposed party name and the former identity of BRS.

Kavitha had earlier announced Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS) as the name of her new political party. However, the Election Commission is understood to have advised her to adopt a different name to avoid confusion with the erstwhile Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which was later renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), according to a release. (ANI)

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