In a significant development, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has named All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Akbarudin Owaisi as the protem Speaker for the newly-elected Assembly. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning at Raj Bhavan ahead of the Assembly session at 11 a.m., during which Owaisi will administer the oath to the newly-elected MLAs.
As per the Governor’s notification, Akbarudin Owaisi will discharge the duties of the Speaker until a Speaker is elected under Article 178 of the Constitution. Being the senior-most member of the Assembly, the AIMIM legislator’s appointment as the protem Speaker reflects his experience in legislative affairs.
In the recently concluded Assembly elections, Akbarudin Owaisi secured victory from the Chandrayangutta constituency in Hyderabad, marking his sixth consecutive term. This marks the second instance of an AIMIM MLA being appointed as Protem Speaker, following Mumtaz Ahmed Khan in 2018.
However, BJP MLA T. Raja Singh has declared his refusal to take the oath before Owaisi, echoing a similar stance from 2018. Singh asserted that he would wait for the appointment of a full-time Speaker before participating in the oath ceremony. Additionally, Singh claimed that no BJP MLA would take the oath before Owaisi, criticizing the appointment as an attempt by the Congress government to appease minorities. The BJP holds eight seats in the 119-member Assembly.
With the Congress securing 64 seats and emerging victorious in the November 30 elections, it has designated Gaddam Prasad Kumar as the Speaker. Kumar, a Dalit leader, won from the Vikarabad (SC) seat. The political landscape in Telangana undergoes shifts as the newly-elected Assembly prepares to convene under the protem Speaker’s guidance.
