Hyderabad: The appointment of AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi as the pro-tem speaker of the Telangana Assembly continues to trigger reactions from various sections of people.
Objecting to the appointment, Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy stated on Saturday that the BJP decided to boycott the oath-taking ceremony, alleging a violation of assembly rules.
Uttam defends appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi
Amid the protest over the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi as the pro-tem Speaker of the Telangana Assembly, state minister, and Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday said, “It is a normal procedure and added that the Congress party did what was the right thing to do.”
“When the BRS government was there last time, they had an AIMIM MLA as the pro-tem Speaker. This has nothing to do with anything else. We did what was the right thing to do. I cannot comment on the future equation with AIMIM. That’s for our state leadership to discuss with everybody. And also for our national leadership to discuss and give us a direction,” Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Criticizing the decision of BJP MLAs, former Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal on X wrote, “Such public expression of hate makes me wonder where my country is heading!”
Following are some other reactions over Akbaruddin Owaisi’s appointment as pro-tem speaker
Why was Akbaruddin Owaisi appointed as pro-tem speaker?
While the Indian Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention the term ‘pro-tem speaker,’ Article 180 (1) states that when the speaker or deputy speaker positions are vacant, the duties should be performed by ‘such member of the Assembly as the Governor may appoint for the purpose.’
As usually the senior-most member of the Assembly is made the pro-tem speaker, Akbaruddin Owaisi was appointed for the post.
The AIMIM MLA has been elected to the Assembly for the sixth term, representing the Chandrayangutta Assembly constituency since 1999.
