Reshuffle triggers fresh wave of dissent

HYDERABAD: Even the limited reshuffle of portfolios by chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has not gone off without triggering a wave of dissent in the party with health minister DL Ravindra Reddy, bursting out at the chief minister.

"If questioning the policies of the government has led to the medical education portfolio being taken away from me, let them remove me from the cabinet altogether. Even then I will continue to question the deficiencies in schemes since that is what my constituents in Mydukur want from me," he said.

Ravindra Reddy, who is in Kadapa district, will arrive in Hyderabad tomorrow and is contemplating to hold a meet with party workers to decide on his future course of action.

As soon as the names of the three ministers became known in the afternoon on Monday, Boddepalli Satyavathi, Amudalavalasa MLA made her displeasure known.

She wanted to know the rationale behind taking Rajam MLA Kondru Murali Mohan into the cabinet, ignoring her though she hails from backward classes. and alleged that the Congress was ignoring those who had been working selflessly for it.

The chief minister, after trying to placate Satyavathi, did not expect that Ravindra Reddy would go to the extent of saying that he would not strive to ensure the victory of Congress candidates in the byelections that are likely in Kadapa.

"The chief minister will take care of the elections. I do not have much following," he said.

He said tongue in cheek at Kazipet in Kadapa district: "Maybe because I am 62 they may have thought I would not be able to handle such a large portfolio and entrusted medical education to a youngster.

If my portfolio was split because I questioned the government's policies, then I think it is wrong since as a minister that is what I was supposed to do.''

Reddy's remarks drew immediate reaction from the chief minister who explained in a statement that reallocation of portfolios was done for administrative convenience and there was no political angle to it.

The chief minister's statement is also intended to mollify deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha, who has been sulking over being divested of the agriculture portfolio and being left in charge of a relatively insignificant portfolio of technical and higher education.

That he did not turn up at the swearing-in by the new ministers showed that he had read the writing on the wall.

The induction of G Prasad Kumar has already ruffled the feathers of home minister Sabita Indra Reddy who thinks her importance in the Rangareddy district has diminished as the district is being represented by two ministers now.

This apart, she felt hurt by the induction of Prasad Kumar since he belongs to the family of former MP G Venkatswamy. She had a running feud with P Shankar Rao who is related to Venkataswamy.

That the chief minister, after sacking Shankar Rao, chose another MLA from the same family is what she is unable to digest. This could be one reason for her not turn up at the swearingin.

PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana is also said to be ill at ease with the induction of Kondru Murali Mohan since the out and out Kiran's man from North Andhra would be breathing down his neck.

Interestingly, Botsa had been kept in the dark over the induction of Murali Mohan till Monday morning.