Hyderabad, February 10: Intervention by the Congress party’s central leadership and the repeated plea by State leaders led to Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy softening his decision to resign from the Cabinet as a mark of protest against Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy stripping him of the portfolio of Medical Education.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the AICC chief Sonia Gandhi, were in touch with Dr. Reddy after which he relented and decided against tendering his resignation.
Expressing resentment over the manner in which his portfolio was bifurcated after the latest round of Cabinet expansion on Monday, Dr. Ravindra Reddy dropped veiled hints that he would quit.
Learning about his plan, APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana began pacifying him.
Three-hour meeting
The Health Minister drove to the residence of the PCC chief and was closeted with him for nearly three hours during which the AICC leaders were in telephonic contact with the duo. Dr. Reddy complained bitterly against the Chief Minister for unceremoniously divesting him of crucial subjects.
“Yes I have made known my protest to the top leaders against the humiliating treatment. I never committed a mistake during my stint. Some big leaders may have been disappointed that I did not do their work,” Dr. Reddy told reporters.
–Agencies
The Minister said, “This development pains me since I have always been loyal to the party. When Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy quit Congress to launch his own party, I told Central leaders that there was no threat to the ruling party in Kadapa district. But today, no Congress leader criticises Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy when he takes potshots at Sonia Gandhi.”
He wondered why the Chief Minister decided to bifurcate Health and Medical Education portfolio when he himself had merged them. “People in top positions should not lie,” he said.