The first Cabinet meeting of K. Chandrasekhar Rao government on Monday was limited to recommending to the Governor renomination of Elvis Stephenson as member of the Assembly representing Anglo-Indian community.
Mr. Stephenson was the nominated MLA even in the previous term of Telangana Assembly. He apparently enjoyed the blessings of the Chief Minister for his role in exposing the ‘cash for vote’ scam during elections to the Legislative Council from MLAs constituency.
A press release after the meeting said the selection of Mr. Stephenson was in keeping with a constitutional obligation to have members of Anglo-Indian community in legislatures. It was decided to ensure his swearing-in with other elected members of the Assembly. Generally, the selection of nominated members is delayed and, as a result, they were sworn in separately. They also miss crucial period of their term. In these circumstances, it was decided to address the issue in the first meeting of the Cabinet.
The TRS government believes in continuing the tradition of equal opportunities to all communities in Telangana, the release said. Therefore, the MIM MLA Mumtaz Ahmed Khan was selected as the pro-tem Speaker and, now, Mr. Stephenson as nominated MLA. The recommendation on Mr. Stephenson was sent to the Governor and the same will be published in the gazette as soon as it is approved.
The meeting complimented the Election Commission of India for successful conduct of Assembly elections on a peaceful note. Compliments were also paid to the Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar and the State government machinery. It was also decided to supply copies of the Constitution to the new MLAs in Telugu, English and Hindi as also business rules of the Legislature.
