Six-time MLA and former Agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy was unanimously elected Speaker of the second Legislative Assembly of Telangana here on Friday.
Making the announcement, Pro-tem Speaker Mumtaz Ahmed Khan said the nomination of Mr. Srinivas Reddy was backed by leaders of all parties and declared him elected to the Office of Speaker.
Later, Chief Minister and Leader of the House K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Congress MLA and Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and MIM MLA Balala, and TRS MLA Eatala Rajender accompanied Mr. Srinivas Reddy as a mark of respect to the Chair of the Speaker.
Expressing happiness over the election of Mr. Srinivas Reddy as Speaker, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao thanked the Opposition leaders — PCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and leaders of other political parties for their cooperation in the Speaker’s election.
Praising Mr. Srinivas Reddy as ‘Lakshmi Putra’’ and ‘Rythu Bandhu’ for successfully implementing ‘Rythu Bandhu’ and ‘Rythu Bima’ schemes and farm loan waiver, he said those schemes had become a model for other States and many States, including West Bengal, were implementing it. The schemes had come in for praise in the United Nations, he said.
Village name
Reminding the House that Pocharam was not the surname of the Speaker but the name of the village he hailed from, Mr. Rao said entire Pocharam village was happy.
Just like he led his joint family, Mr. Srinivas Reddy would also lead the House of Telangana, the Chief Minister said.
“I will miss you in the Cabinet and the way you explained the programmes of the government and gave clarifications in the House. But I shall try to fill your position in the Cabinet with another able leader,” Mr. Rao said.
Set new traditions
Mr. Gandra Venkataramana Reddy of the Congress congratulated the Speaker and hoped that he would establish good traditions and treat members of all parties equally.
In all, 26 members belonging to different parties, including Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, MLAs K. T. Rama Rao, T. Harish Rao, Eatala Rajender, D. Sridhar Babu, Surender and Mohammad Bin Abdulla Balala spoke, they recalled their association with the Speaker and hailed him for translating the Chief Minister’s vision to help the lot of farmers.
KTR said it was great to see a farmer’s son becoming Chief Minister and another farmer’s son becoming Speaker. Mr. Harish Rao said Mr. Srinivas Reddy began his political career with the Telangana movement in 1969 and it was great to see him as Speaker of the Telangana Assembly. He was a role model and inspiration for younger MLAs for his commitment to the farmers’ welfare, he said.
‘House for debate’
Thanking the Chief Minister, leaders of political parties and members for his unanimous election as Speaker, Mr. Srinivas Reddy expressed his gratitude to his constituency voters for electing him six times and giving him the opportunity to serve in various capacities.
Emphasising that the House was for debate and not confrontation and disruption, he promised to treat every one equally and conduct the House in an impartial manner. Members should desist from making personal allegations but debate and discuss problems of all sections of people. He hoped that the ruling and opposition members follow ethics and cooperate to make Telangana Assembly a model legislature and enhance its dignity. “Let us conduct the House in such a way to meet the aspirations and expectations of people,” he said.
