Hyderabad: The Congress high command has chosen Vikarabad MLA Gaddam Prasad Kumar as Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly. Kumar, a Dalit leader, was elected from the Vikarabad (SC) reserved constituency in recent Assembly polls.
He had served as minister in the previous Congress government between 2012 and 2014. He was elected as MLA for the first time in 2009 but lost to BRS in 2014 and 2018 elections.
However, in recent Assembly polls, Kumar trounced BRS MLA Methuku Anand by a margin of 12,893 votes.
The Congress leadership has decided to make a Dalit the Speaker of the Assembly and send a clear message that it was committed to empowerment of the weaker sections particularly the Dalits. The party has already elevated Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, a Dalit leader, as Deputy Chief Minister.
