Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy said his party MLAs would be staying away from the oath taking ceremony as Akbaruddin Owaisi was appointed pro-tem speaker against the assembly norms
Published Date – 11:49 AM, Sat – 9 December 23
Hyderabad: Accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of indulging in minority appeasement politics, the newly elected BJP legislative party members stayed away from the oath taking ceremony in the State Assembly in protest against the State government appointing All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA-elect Akbaruddin Owaisi as the pro-tem speaker on Saturday.
Disclosing the decision of the party to the media, State BJP president G Kishan Reddy said his party MLAs would be staying away from the oath taking ceremony as Owaisi was appointed pro-tem speaker against the assembly norms. “Though there were other senior legislators in the new assembly, the State government chose Owaisi as pro-tem speaker. We will take the matter to Governor and ask her to put on hold the speaker’s election,” he said.
The party MLAs would take oath after the appointment of speaker, he said.
Earlier, the BJP MLAs K Venkata Ramana Reddy (Kamareddy), Palvai Harish Babu (Sirpur), Aleti Maheshwar Reddy (Nirmal), T Raja Singh (Goshamahal), Payal Shankar (Adilabad), Ramarao Patel (Mudhole), Paidi Rakesh Reddy (Armoor) and Dhanpal Suryanarayana Gupta (Nizamabad Urban) met at the State office at 7.30 am for a breakfast meeting with party State president G Kishan Reddy to finalise the strategy and then offered prayers at the Bhagyalakshmi Temple at Charminar. Then they paid homage to BR Ambedkar statue at the Tank Bund and at martyrs’ memorial at Gun Park.