Telangana: BJP boycotts swearing-in ceremony of Akbaruddin Owaisi as Pro-tem Speaker, says Congress neglected 'seniors'

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 9 : Boycotting the oath-taking ceremony of AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi as the Pro-tem Speaker of Telangana Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Congress government of 'neglecting' the senior candidates for the post and of defying the existing tradition of the House.
The Floor Leader of AIMIM and Chandrayangutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was sworn in as the Pro-tem Speaker for the first session of the third Telangana State Legislative Assembly.
The Telangana BJP MLAs boycotted the oath-taking ceremony, with the party saying that it has become evident that Congress and AIMIM have inked an agreement under the table.
While speaking to ANI, BJP Telangana General Secretary Gujjula Premender Reddy said, "There is a tradition in the state assembly that the one who is senior and has won many times becomes the Pro-tem Speaker. But the Congress government and AIMIM reached an agreement under the table and they appointed him (Owaisi), ignoring the seniors. (As) they have made the leader of the Majlis party the interim Speaker, we are boycotting it (the oath-taking ceremony) as a protest."
"Rahul Gandhi in run-up to the polls, claimed that the BJP, BRS and AIMIM are together. So what happened now? It became known to the public that Congress and AIMIM were together earlier as well," he said.
The BJP leader said that when the regular Speaker is elected, only then will their newly elected party MLAs take the oath.
Earlier in the day, Akbaruddin Owaisi took oath as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly in Raj Bhawan, Hyderabad.
The oath was administered by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the BJP MLAs arrived at Raj Bhawan to meet the state Governor and condemn the appointment of Akbaruddin Owaisi.