KCR takes oath as MLA; several legislators, leaders absent

Hyderabad : The BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday took oath as member of the Legislative Assembly in the presence of the Council chairman and Speaker G Prasad Kumar. While many party leaders were present, the absence of a few leaders was a talking point.

The assembly premise was abuzz with a large number of party leaders and followers. The Speaker administered the oath to KCR. Council chairman G Sukhender Reddy, Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu were also present.

The BRS chief came to the assembly in a Mercedes carrying a walking stick. Party MP J Santosh and MLA T Harish Rao escorted him to the Speaker’s chambers. Rao had contested from two constituencies of Gajwel and Kamareddy in the Assembly elections in December. While retaining the Gajwel seat, Rao was defeated in Kamareddy constituency. After taking oath he left for his residence at Nandinagar.

Rao could not take oath along with other members because of an accident while he was in his farmhouse. He had to undergo total hip replacement surgery. After recovering post-surgery, Rao held review meetings with party leaders and decided to take oath on Thursday. After taking oath, he met party leaders in the assembly lounge. Several BRS leaders, including T Srinivas Yadav, Patnam Mahender Reddy, D Sudheer Reddy, S Ravi Kumar, MP V Ravichandra, V Prashant Reddy, Arikepudi Gandhi, K Eshwar, B Suman, P Srinivas Reddy were present.

However, buzz was on leaders who skipped the programme at a time when the news of some leaders meeting Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recently was a hot topic of discussion. The leaders who did not attend the assembly were Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, T Padma Rao Goud, Chinta Prabhakar and Kale Yadaiah. Sources said Prabhakar Reddy was on a foreign visit. Similarly, Padma Rao had to visit Uttarakhand for personal work. Party leaders said they were out of station hence could not attend.