The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Suresh Reddy game for another stint

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Friday, May 15, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Suresh Reddy game for another stint

Says his term as Assembly Speaker was most satisfying and very challenging

Foresees crucial role for the Chair in the days to come
‘I followed all the procedures in the case of the TRS rebels’

HYDERABAD: Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy said that he was not in the race for the Chief Minister’s post but dropped hints that he was not averse to continuing as Speaker if the Congress retained power.

Mr. Suresh Reddy told reporters here on Wednesday that his five-year stint as Speaker was most satisfying and also very challenging for him. Asked if he was in the race for the Chief Minister’s post, he said Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy was the natural choice and he had no intention of taking a shot at the top post. “I am willing to be the Speaker for one more term if the party decides,” he said.

He said the 12th Assembly had notched up several distinctions such as conducting the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference, celebrating the golden jubilee of the State Legislature and taking significant decisions.

Mr. Reddy maintained that in the coming days the Speaker would play a key role, as more and more parties were making it to the Assembly. Asked if he was hinting at a hung Assembly in the State, the Speaker clarified that what he meant was that the task of the Chair would become much more crucial.

Asked about the criticism that he took a long time to decide the fate of the TRS rebels, Mr. Suresh Reddy said he had followed all the procedures as this was the first time in the State Legislature that such a thing had happened. During the course of hearing the anti-defection case against the legislators, I had identified several grey areas. “It was on the basis of my report that there was discussion about giving more teeth to the 10th Schedule of the Constitution,” he added.

‘Unfortunate’

He termed as unfortunate, the no-confidence motion moved against him by the Opposition parties. The Speaker said he had performed his role much to everyone’s satisfaction and pointed out that the Leader of the House, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, and Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu had extended cooperation to him.

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