Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao on Friday, January 26, slammed Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan for ‘immediately’ accepting the nominations of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) Professor Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan, news editor of Urdu newspaper, The Siasat Daily, for MLCs under the Governor quota.
“… What’s more appalling is the bond between Congress and BJP which has come to the fore in the state… The Governor has accepted the nomination of the Congress government of the President of a political party… The governor and her office are paid for by the exchequer of Telangana. She’s answerable to the people of Telangana… She chose not to react when BRS sent the proposal, and when it came to Congress, she immediately accepted the proposal… BJP has made up its mind to make Congress powerful in Telangana… On one hand, Rahul Gandhi speaks ill of Adani during the Bharat Jodo yatra, and then Telangana’s CM from Congress meets Adani and signs MOUs… Even one hour before becoming Governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan was the Tamil Nadu BJP President and she still works like a BJP worker. What amazes everyone is, why is she supporting Congress?” he said, speaking on ANI.
“Her remarks about the previous BRS Government were truly appalling and is a display of her brazen affection towards the Congress party,” he added.
Governor Soundararajan in her Republic Day speech today made caustic remarks against the previous government terming it a “dictatorial government” that was run against the constitutional spirit and that the Telangana society has put an end to the 10-year rule.
“It (the Governor’s comments) is truly appalling, and truly reprehensible, the kind of speech, the kind of words, the kind of nonsense that was coming out through the Raj Bhavan this morning, because for the last 10 years there was a democratically elected government in Telangana. Every single word that the Governor has used today in her speech is truly admonishing and truly insulting and humiliating to the people of Telangana,” he told PTI.
He further said he was under the impression that the Governor is a “BJP Karyakarta (worker), but unfortunately it seems like she has joined the Congress party and suggested that she has to enroll in the grand old party and display her “brazen affection” towards that party.
She approved the nominations on Thursday, January 25, filling two of the five vacant MLC seats in the Telangana Legislative Council.
By election for MLC posts under MLA quota
The Election Commission of India has scheduled separate elections for the two vacant MLC posts under the MLA quota on January 29. Congress has named its working president Mahesh Goud and state NSUI President Venkat Balmoor as the candidates for election to two MLC seats under the MLAs quota.
With the Congress holding a majority in the Assembly, there is an expectation that the party will emerge victorious in both seats, strengthening its position in the state legislature.
Congress sources said a delay in finalising the nominations for MLC under Governor’s quota was caused as the state Cabinet was expected to announce the candidacies after Revanth Reddy’s return from the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Composition of the Telangana Legislative Council
The Telangana Legislative Council, serving as the upper house of the state legislature, comprises 40 members. Currently, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) dominates the house with 27 members.
With the appointment of Amer Ali Khan and M Kodandaram the Indian National Congress (INC) now has four MLC in the Council, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has two.
Additionally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) each have one member, while the other two members are independents.
With the Governor approving nominations of two more MLCs, there are now three vacant seats in the Telangana Legislative Council, including two under the MLA quota, vacated after MLCs Kadiyam Srihari and Padi Kaushik Reddy were elected as MLAs in the recent assembly polls.
The upcoming MLC bypolls are likely to change the composition of the Telangana Legislative Council.
Duties of MLCs in Telangana and other states
Although Legislative Councils in Telangana and other states are considered upper houses, the Indian Constitution grants them limited powers.
MLCs serve a fixed six-year tenure compared to MLAs, whose tenure is five years or less in the event of Assembly dissolution.
Regarding duties, MLCs have fewer responsibilities and powers than MLAs, as evident in the legislative bill passage procedure.
(With excerpts from PTI)
