Hyderabad: The BJP MLAs from Telangana today (December 14) took oath after Congress leader Gaddam Prasad Kumar took over as the speaker of the Telangana assembly. All the eight BJP MLAs had earlier boycotted the oath-taking event, alleging violation of Assembly rules in the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi, brother of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, as pro-tem Speaker.
Soon after Prasad Kumar was unanimously elected as the Speaker, the BJP MLAs attended the House and took oath.
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Gaddam Prasad Kumar elected as Speaker
Pro-Tem Speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi announced on Thursday that the ruling Congress legislator Gaddam Prasad Kumar was elected unanimously as Speaker of the Telangana Assembly.
Kumar had earlier filed the nomination for the post. "Shri Gaddam Prasad Kumar (is) elected unanimously to the office of the Speaker," Owaisi declared, congratulating the former, the third Speaker of Telangana after the state was formed in 2014.
Except for the BJP, all other parties in the Assembly---the BRS, AIMIM and the CPI, supported Prasad Kumar's candidature.
The Congress won 64 seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections and its pre-poll ally CPI got 1 seat. The BRS bagged 39 seats while its "friendly party" AIMIM was victorious in seven seats. The BJP secured eight seats.
BJP boycott oath-taking presided over by pro-tem speaker
The BJP MLAs stayed away from the House, alleging that AIMIM MLA Owaisi was appointed as pro-tem speaker in violation of the rules. The BJP had complained to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan about his appointment. They had alleged in a memorandum that the Congress government in the state wilfully violated norms to pander to certain sections of the people in pursuit of appeasement politics.
It had urged the Governor to set aside the nomination of Owaisi as pro-tem Speaker and withhold the process of election of a new full-time Speaker for the newly-constituted assembly pending nomination of a senior most member as Speaker.
(With agencies input)
Also Read: AIMIM's Akbaruddin Owaisi takes oath as Pro-tem Speaker of Telangana Legislative Assembly
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