AIMIM Leader Appointed Interim Speaker In Telangana Sparks BJP Boycott

In a recent development, the Telangana BJP decided to boycott the oath ceremony for the newly elected MLAs, expressing objection to the appointment of AIMIM’s Akbaruddin Owaisi as the Protem Speaker of the state assembly. The Protem Speaker is responsible for administering the oath to the incoming legislators.

T Raja Singh, the BJP MLA who secured victory in the Goshamahal constituency during last month’s assembly elections, declared in a video message that he would refrain from taking the oath “as long as he is alive” in the presence of AIMIM. He insisted on taking the oath only after a full-term speaker is appointed, citing his reservations about Akbaruddin Owaisi, accusing him of making anti-Hindu comments in the past.

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The BJP, which won eight seats in the recent election, expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of Mr. Owaisi, citing a departure from the tradition of appointing senior MLAs as the Protem Speaker. State unit chief G Kishan Reddy stated that BJP MLAs would boycott taking the oath before this Protem Speaker, emphasizing that they would only do so after a Speaker is officially appointed. He also asserted the party’s refusal to ally with AIMIM, indicating their intention to address the matter with the Governor.

Raja Singh had previously refused to take the oath in 2018 for a similar reason, when the Protem Speaker appointed at that time also belonged to AIMIM.

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The scheduled oath-taking by Mr. Owaisi as the Protem Speaker on Saturday, followed by administering the oath to elected MLAs, faced opposition from Raja Singh. Singh accused the new Chief Minister of Telangana, Revanth Reddy of the Congress party, of being fearful of AIMIM, similar to his predecessor K Chandrashekar Rao. Singh alleged that this fear led to the appointment of Mr. Owaisi as the Protem Speaker.

According to protocol, the seniormost MLA in the assembly is typically designated as the Protem Speaker. Despite Mr. Owaisi’s election to the assembly for the sixth time from the Chandrayangutta constituency, Singh argued that there were other senior MLAs who could have been chosen for the role. He contended that the new Chief Minister’s decision was aimed at appeasing minorities and AIMIM leaders. The BJP’s stance reflects broader concerns about the perceived departure from established practices and the party’s commitment to not aligning with AIMIM.