After ensuring the seven legislators of the AIMIM got the seats reserved for the principal opposition party in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, Speaker P Srinivas Reddy has now conferred the post of the Chairman of the Public Accounts committee (PAC) on Akbaruddin Owaisi. This is a Cabinet-rank post. 

In June, the Congress had lost its status as the main opposition party after 12 of its 18 lawmakers joined the ruling TRS. MIM with its seven fell short of the number of 12 needed for Owaisi to be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition. His elder brother and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi had demanded that Akbaruddin be made the Leader of the Opposition. K Chandrasekhar Rao has done the next best thing by making Akbar the PAC chairman. 

It is a win-win situation for the TRS as the MIM is a friendly party. The arrangement will ensure the Telangana assembly and the PAC will witness a friendly fight at best. The opposition is numerically weak, with just six Congress and a sole BJP MLA.