BJP’s Raja Singh had refused to be administered oath in 2018 too. (File)
Telangana BJP today boycotted the oath ceremony for the newly elected MLAs, objecting to AIMIM’s Akbaruddin Owaisi being appointed Protem Speaker of the state assembly. The Protem Speaker is tasked with administering oath to the new legislators.
BJP MLA T Raja Singh, who won from Goshamahal in last month’s assembly elections, said in a video message that he would never take oath “as long as he is alive” in front of the AIMIM. He said he would take oath only after a full term speaker is appointed.
“Can I take oath in front of a person (Akbaruddin Owaisi) who made anti-Hindu comments in the past,” he asked.
The BJP had won eight seats in last month’s election. The party’s state unit chief G Kishan Reddy said that the BJP was against the appointment of Mr Owaisi as it is against the tradition of appointing senior MLAs as Protem Speaker.
“BJP MLAs will boycott taking oath before this Protem Speaker. Our MLAs will take oath after a Speaker is appointed. We will never ally with such a party (AIMIM). We will go to the Governor on this,” he told reporters.
Raja Singh had refused to be administered oath in 2018 too since the Protem Speaker appointed then was also from the AIMIM.
Mr Owaisi was expected to take oath as the Protem Speaker on Saturday and then administer the oath to the elected MLAs on the same today.
Mr Singh alleged that Congress’s Revanth Reddy, the new Chief Minister of Telangana, is scared of the AIMIM like his predecessor K Chandrashekar Rao, and thus allowed Mr Owaisi to be the Protem Speaker.
The seniormost MLA in the assembly is made the Protem Speaker, as per the protocol. Mr Owaisi was elected to the assembly (including the united Andhra assembly) from Chandrayangutta constituency for the sixth time.
However, Mr Singh claimed there are many senior MLAs who could have been made the Protem Speaker, but the new Chief Minister was trying to appease the minorities and AIMIM leaders.