New Telangana Assembly Sessions From Today 

Hyderabad: The newly-elected Telangana Legislative Assembly would meet today for the members to take oath, to elect the Speaker and also take up the Governor's address to the joint session of legislature.

The Governor ESL Narasimhan had issued a notification on January 7 summoning the assembly to meet for its session at 11.30 AM on January 17.

Senior AIMIM MLA from Charminar assembly constituency Mumtaz Ahmed Khan has been appointed as the pro tem Speaker, before whom the newly-elected members would take oath.

The assembly proceedings would be held for four days from January 17 to 20, a press release from the Chief Minister's office said.

January 17- The newly-elected MLAs would take oath after the House meets at 11.30 AM today i.e. Thursday. In the afternoon an official lunch would be hosted for the MLAs on the lawns of Legislative Council Hall, the release said.The Pro-tem speaker will chair the session on the first day and administer the oath of office to the newly-elected members, including the nominated member from Anglo-Indian community.

The schedule for the Speaker's election would be announced on January 17 and the nomination process would commence, it said. The names of several TRS leaders, including Padma Devender Reddy (deputy speaker of the previous assembly), Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, E Rajender and A Indrakaran Reddy (all ministers during the previous term of TRS) are doing the rounds for the Speaker's post. S Madhusudanachary, who was the Speaker during the previous assembly, lost the December 7 assembly polls.

January 18 -The Speaker's election and an announcement about it would take place on January 18.Later, the Assembly proceedings would continue with the newly-elected Speaker in the Chair. "The Speaker will conduct the Business Advisory Committee meeting after the House is adjourned and will take a decision on the Governor's address the following day," it said.

January 19- The Governor would address the joint session of legislature.

January 20- The House would introduce the motion of thanks to the Governor's address and adopt the same, the release said.

BJP MLA-elect T Raja Singh had said he did not want to take the oath in Khan's presence as the AIMIM "speaks against Hindus and its leaders do not sing Vande Mataram' or say Bharat Mata Ki Jai".He, however, said he would take oath after the regular Speaker takes over proceedings of the new Assembly.

The party position in the 120-member Assembly is TRS-88, INC-19, AIMIM-7, TDP-2, Independent-1, AIFB-1, BJP-1 and Nominated-1. The AIMIM is a friendly party of the ruling TRS. The independent member and the MLA of All India Forward Bloc has extended support to TRS.

Opposition Leader: The 19-member Congress is expected to elect its leader in the assembly who would be the opposition leader.

The cabinet in Telangana would be expanded soon as per TRS sources, who said that auspicious days had begun with the 'Sankranti' festival. The two-member cabinet led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in on December 13 after he led the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to a spectacular victory in the December 7 assembly elections. Along with Rao, Mohammad Mehmood Ali took oath and he has been allotted the Home portfolio. (PTI)

Also Read: TRS Leaders Lobby For Ministerial Berths In Telangana Cabinet