T'gana MLAs take oath amid row over speaker

The first session of the new Telangana legislative assembly began on a stormy note on Saturday after all eight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, who won in the recently held elections, refused to take oath to protest against the appointment of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro tem Speaker of the House. Owaisi was administered the oath of office by governor Tamilisai Soundararjan at Raj Bhavan on Saturday.

- Suresh Dharur

A Pro-tem Speaker is appointed to administer the oath of office to newly elected MLAs in the first post-poll sitting of the assembly to preside over the voting and election of the new Speaker. As per the protocol, a senior legislator in the House is appointed as Pro-tem Speaker till a Speaker is elected. Owaisi is the senior-most legislator, having won Chandrayangutta constituency six times. The BJP, however, accused the ruling Congress of "neglecting" the senior candidates and of defying the existing tradition of the House.

"When there are other senior leaders in the new House, why should they pick an AIMIM legislator to do the honour? We will not take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made derogatory anti-Hindu comments in the past," BJP legislator Raja Singh asked.