BRS members boycott Arekapudi Gandhi’s appointment meeting as PAC chairman

The PAC consists of nine members elected based on party strengths, with the chairman’s position typically reserved for the opposition

Hyderabad: Protesting the appointment of turncoat MLA Arekapudi Gandhi as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), BRS members boycotted the meeting held in the Assembly Committee Hall on Saturday.

BRS MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy criticized the government for appointing Gandhi in violation of established norms. Pointing out that Gandhi had defected from BRS to Congress, he described the appointment as undemocratic and voiced his protest by boycotting the meeting.

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He emphasized that the Leader of the Opposition was not consulted during the selection process, calling it a precedent set by the Congress government that undermines democratic norms.

“The PAC is the most important committee dealing with financial matters in the State Legislature. Traditionally, the post of Chairman is given to the main opposition, and this should be respected,” Reddy stated.

The PAC consists of nine members elected based on party strengths, with the chairman’s position typically reserved for the opposition.

Members from different parties including Prashanth Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Ravuri Prakash Reddy, Chikudu Vamshikrishna, Yennam Srinivas Reddy, Ram Rao Pawar, Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala, Kunanneni Sambasiva Rao, MLCs Jeevan Reddy, Bhanu Prasad Rao, L. Ramana, and Satyavathi Rathore are part of the committee.

Speaking to the media, BRS leader and MLC L. Ramana called on the government to review the appointment of the PAC chairman, urging that the choice should reflect the preference of BRS chief and Leader of the Opposition, K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

Ramana criticized Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for welcoming the defected BRS MLA into Congress and then denying his induction into the party. He lamented that the Speaker remained silent on the issue. He called it a “dark day in the history of democracy.”

“The appointment of the PAC chairman should honour legislative traditions and the opposition’s recommendations,” Ramana stated.

The meeting, chaired by Gandhi, was attended by Minister for Legislative Affairs D. Sridhar Babu and other committee members.