HYDERABAD: With all political parties extending support to his candidature, former minister and Congress MLA from Vikarabad Gaddam Prasad Kumar was on Thursday unanimously elected the third Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers as well as BRS working president KT Rama Rao and AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi proposed Prasad Kumar’s name. Pro-tem Speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi, commending all the parties for enabling the unanimous election of Prasad Kumar, declared him the new Speaker of the House. No other member had filed a nomination by the Wednesday deadline.
Prasad Kumar expressed gratitude to all members for their support and asserted his commitment to maintaining the integrity of the Assembly.“I will be neutral and will do my best to address public issues in the House and solve them. All the members would be given the opportunity to speak on the public issues they raise,” he said.
Prasad Kumar was congratulated by the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, and other members. Prasad Kumar expressed his determination to run the House smoothly and efficiently with the cooperation of all political parties.
Revanth too thanked all political parties for their cooperation and hoped that the tradition of unanimity in electing the Speaker would continue to serve the aspirations of the Telangana people. He spoke of Prasad Kumar’s political journey and his role in the development of the Vikarabad segment. Vikramarka acknowledged Prasad Kumar’s humble background and expressed the hope that the new Speaker would address the problems faced by the poor and weaker sections of society.
“Please do look to your left side too, sir,” Rama Rao said, stressing the need to give sufficient time to the Opposition to air their views. He added that he had the experience of entering the Assembly along with Prasad Kumar as an MLA in 2009.As minister for handlooms, Prasad Kumar visited Sircilla and heard the problems of weavers, Rama Rao said.
“When I invited him, he was sceptical as those were the days of Telangana agitation and emotions were high. But I took him along with me and he initiated several measures after visiting Sircilla,” he said.A Dalit leader, Prasad Kumar was selected for the post keeping his vast experience in view. He served as a minister in the Congress government in undivided Andhra Pradesh.