The first session of the third Telangana Assembly began in Hyderabad on Saturday. All the newly-elected MLAs took oath today, including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy who was the first to take oath, followed by deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi presided over the proceedings as the pro-tem Speaker. Before the commencement of the session, Owaisi was administered the oath by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as the pro-tem Speaker at Raj Bhavan, which led to boycott of the event by the BJP alleging violation of Assembly rules.
The Governor picked Akbaruddin as the pro-tem Speaker for being the senior-most legislator in the House, having won the Chandrayangutta Assembly seat for six times in a row. A pro-tem Speaker is usually appointed to administer the oath of office to newly elected MLAs in the first sitting of the Assembly after an election, and presides over the voting and election of the new Speaker.
State BJP president G Kishan Reddy alleged that Owaisi was appointed as pro-tem Speaker though there were other senior members in the House. He further alleged the Congress party of indulging in appeasement politics.
Reddy also said that the BJP MLAs would take oath after the regular Speaker assumes office.
He said, as quoted by PTI, “There is a tradition of a senior person being appointed as the pro-tem Speaker in the Assembly. The BJP opposes the appointment of AIMIM’s Akbaruddin Owaisi as pro-tem Speaker as per an understanding (of Congress) with AIMIM.”
Observing that Congress has only a wafer-thin majority in the Assembly, he claimed that the government is faced with a situation of collapsing even for a small pretext. In view of this, the AIMIM member is made the pro-tem Speaker as per a plan, he further alleged.
“Because of the violation of the legislative assembly’s rules, we are opposing the appointment of the AIMIM person as the pro-tem Speaker. Therefore, our members are boycotting from taking oath with him in the chair,” he said.
The Congress has begun its appeasement politics and violation of the traditions of legislative assembly just three days after assuming power, Reddy alleged.
He also pointed out that the BJP has already claimed that there is a tacit understanding between Congress and AIMIM. During the recent election campaign for the Telangana election, it was alleged (by Congress) that the BJP and AIMIM were one. “Now, Telangana people should know on what criteria Owaisi has been made as pro-tem Speaker in violation of rules,” Reddy said.
Even controversial BJP MLAT Raja Singh, who has been elected for the third time from Goshamahal seat, also said that he won’t take oath if Akbaruddin was the pro-tem Speaker.
“I am not going to take the oath if Akbaruddin is sitting in the Speaker’s chair. Akbar is the product of Qasim Razvi, the head of the Nizam’s Razakar army, which massacred Telangana people,’’ Raja Singh told The Indian Express on Friday evening.
Telangana ministers portfolios:
The portfolios of 11 ministers in the new Telangana Cabinet were announced today. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy kept Municipal Administration and Urban Development, General Administration, Law and Order, and all other unallocated portfolios with himself and state’s first Dalit Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhati Vikaramarka was allocated Finance & Planning and Energy.