BJP's Rajender takes oath as Telangana MLA

Hyderabad, Nov 10:  Former Telangana minister Eatala Rajender on Wednesday took oath as a member of the state Legislative Assembly.

Rajender, who won the October 30 by-election from Huzurabad constituency as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took the oath in the chamber of the Assembly Speaker.

Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy administered the oath to Rajender. Former MPs Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and Jithender Reddy accompanied the former minister.

In the by-election, the result of which was declared on November 2, Rajender defeated his nearest rival G. Srinivas Yadav of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) by 24,068 votes.

Rajender had resigned from the Assembly necessitating the by-election. He was elected to the Assembly for the seventh time. However, this time he won on the ticket of the BJP, which he joined after being dropped from the state cabinet by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao following allegations of land grabbing.

Before taking oath as the MLA, Rajender paid tributes to martyrs of Telangana at Gun Park in front of the Assembly building.

Later, talking to reporters, he appealed to all those who took part in the Telangana movement to come out of the TRS.

He slammed the chief minister for advising farmers not to go for paddy cultivation. He said KCR should tell the people who was procuring paddy during the last seven years.

The former minister remarked that people were laughing at the two-hour long press conferences of the chief minister and alleged that the TRS chief was uttering lies.

The newly elected MLA also ridiculed KCR's announcement to stage dharnas against the Centre across the state on November 12 over the issue of paddy procurement.

Rajender said under the leadership of the BJP, he would continue the fight against the autocratic and corrupt rule of KCR. He said whenever elections are held the BJP will form the government in the state.