Hyderabad: Former minister Mandali Buddha Prasad was on Monday elected unanimously as Deputy Speaker of the AP Legislative Assembly. Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao announced that he was the only one who filed nominations before the deadline. Buddha Prasad inherited his father Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao’s political legacy as he won thrice from the Avanigadda Assembly seat from 1999. He served as a minister in the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cabinet. He also served as the chairman of the AP Official Language Commission. Buddha quit the Congress in protest against the division of the state. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan congratulated him on his election.
Buddha Prasad thanked both the leaders. “I thank Chandrababu Naidu for nominating me and YS Jagan for making my election unanimous,” he said after his election. He also added that the bifurcation of the state has given rise to innumerable problems. He, however, lamented the under utilisation of the Question Hour over the years. He said legislators should use their powers and ask as many questions of the government as possible.
