Congress’s Gaddam Prasad unanimously chosen as Telangana assembly speaker
Gaddam Prasad Kumar was the only nomination received by the legislative secretariat by 5 pm, paving the way for his unanimous election as the Speaker.
Senior Congress lawmaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar will take charge as the new Speaker of the Telangana state legislative assembly on Thursday with all the political parties extending support to his candidature for the post, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Kumar’s was the only nomination received by the legislative secretariat by 5 pm on Wednesday, when the nominations closed, paving way for his unanimous election as the Speaker of the third Telangana state assembly.
His name will be formally announced by pro-tem Speaker Asaduddin Owaisi in the assembly, when it reassembles for the formal address of governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday.
Kumar, who represents Vikarabad assembly constituency, will be the first Dalit Speaker of the state legislative assembly. The post was earlier held by S Madhusudhana Chary between 2014 and 2018 and later by Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, both of the BRS.
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State legislative affairs minister D Sridhar Babu sought the support of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi Legislative Party (BRSLP) to support the candidature of Kumar for the Speaker’s post so that he could be elected unanimously.
He, along with health minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, made a formal request to this effect to the BRSLP floor leader K Chandrashekar Rao, whom they called in Yashoda Hospitals on Wednesday. KCR is recuperating after a total hip replacement surgery at the hospital last week.
They also requested BRS working president KT Rama Rao, who was also present in the hospital, for support of the main opposition party for facilitating the unanimous election of the Speaker. The BRS leaders assured to extend support to Kumar with its senior leaders to represent the BRS at the nomination of Prasad Kumar.
The Congress also made a similar appeal to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which also have agreed to support the candidature of Kumar for the Speaker’s post.