'Won't take oath in front of Akbaruddin Owaisi because...': Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh

T Raja Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from the Indian state of Telangana known for making controversial remarks, triggered a fresh row on Friday (Dec 8) after he said that he would not take oath in front of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisiwho was appointed as the Pro-tem speaker of the state legislative assembly.

Speaking to the news agency ANI, Singh said that he won't take oath in front of Owaisi because he made anti-Hindu comments.

"It is very unfortunate. After Congress formed the government andRevanth Reddy became the CM, Congress' real face has come to the fore. Every time Revanth Reddy used to make a statement that BJP, AIMIM & BRS are one, but the people of Telangana have known who is with whom," Singh said.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

In the recently concluded Telangana assembly elections in which Congress won, BJP's T Raja Singh emerged victorious from the Goshamahal constituency for the third time in a row.

In 2018, Singh refused to be administered oath since the Pro-tem speaker then was also an AIMIM leader.

On Saturday, the Telangana BJP boycotted the oath ceremony for the newly elected MLAs. As the Pro-tem speaker, Akbaruddin Owaisi is responsible for administering oathto the new legislators.

Meanwhile, Telangana BJP President G Kishan Reddy said that his party was against Owaisi's appointment. "This is against the tradition of appointing senior MLAs to the post. BJP MLAs will boycott taking oath before this Pro-tem Speaker. Our MLAs will take oath after a Speaker is appointed. We will never ally with such a party (AIMIM). We will go to the Governor on this," Reddy told reporters.

"We have won 8 seats and reached 14% vote percentage in the state...There is a ritual of appointing a senior leader as pro-tem Speaker. However, Congress has appointed Akbaruddin Owaisi to the post due to their understanding with AIMIM. We object to this. We demand that the election of the Assembly Speaker should not happen with this Pro-tem Speaker. We will tell the same to the State Governor," Reddy added.