Hyderabad: The tone for the first session of the newly-elected Telangana state Legislative Assembly which commenced on Thursday was set by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who walked over to the Opposition benches and shook hands with TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, bitter rivals in the recent Assembly elections that swept the TRS to power.
Each member took an oath swearing allegiance to the Constitution and another to uphold the dignity of the House and follow its rules and regulations.
A total of 114 legislators took oath. Five others, MIM MLAs Akbaruddin Owaisi and Jaffer Hussain Meraj, Telugu Desam MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah and TRS legislator Madhavaram Krishna Rao and Mr T. Raja Singh of the BJP did not take oath. Mr Owaisi is in London for medical treatment and Mr Meraj did not attend the session due to the death of his son.
After taking oath in the name of God in Telugu, Mr Chandrasekhar Rao went up to the Opposition benches and greeted Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy, Mr Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and others.
Before the beginning of the session, Mr Rao and TRS MLAs paid tribute at the Telangana martyrs’ memorial in front of the Assembly building.
Ms Rekha Naiak (TRS), Ms Haripriya Banoth (Congress) Mr Ahmad Bin Balala (MIM), Mr Mynampally Hanuman-tha Rao, Mr K. Venkatesh and Mr Shakil Amer Mohammed of the TRS took the oath in English as did Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy. MIM legislators Syed Ahmad Pasha Quadri, Kausar Mohiudd-in and Mauzzam Khan took the oath in Urdu. After the ceremony, the pro-tem Speaker adjour-ned the House till Friday.
TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao and former minister T. Harish Rao were in jovial mood during the oath taking ceremony. Mr Rama Rao, who sat behind Mr Harish Rao, tapped the latter’s shoulder several times and was seen exchanging jokes. Mr Etala Rajendar, who sat next to Mr Harish Rao, and Dr C. Laxma Reddy, who was seated next to Mr Rama Rao, shared in the laughter.
