Hyderabad, August 17: The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to effect major and drastic changes in his cabinet soon after his discussions with the Congress High Command during his visit to New Delhi from August 19.
Though the talk of cabinet expansion and also dropping of some ministers has been in the air for quite some time, the Chief Minister has been deferring the same for reasons best known only to him. In fact, the Central leadership of the ruling party was expecting Mr Rosaiah to act on his own without any prompting from New Delhi since the Chief Minister has its full support and backing.
The growing rumblings within the ruling Congress in the wake of the controversy surrounding the Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the senior party leaders, including ministers trading corruption charges against each other, the debacle of the Congress in the recent by-elections in the Telangana region triggering of blame game among the party leaders all seem to have necessitated the Chief Minister to act without any delay.
According to informed sources, Mr Rosaiah, who will be leaving for Delhi on August 19 and stay in the national capital for three days might utilize the opportunity to hold discussions with the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, regarding the changes he was planning to effect in his ministry. It might be noted here that the present cabinet has been constituted by the then Chief Minister late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was succeeded by Mr Rosaiah under unusual circumstances.
Except for Ms Konda Surekha, a staunch loyalist of Mr Jagan and wanted him to succeed his late father, who resigned on the plea that she would not continue in the cabinet headed by Mr Rosaiah, the state cabinet continues to be the same. However, there is no denial of the fact that the cabinet has vertically divided with one section continuing to be loyal to Mr Jagan and hoping him to take over the reins one day.
The Odarpu Yatra of Mr Jagan also brought to the fore the loyalists among the ministers and legislators. Despite clear warning by the High Command with regard to Jagan’s Odarpu Yatra, some ministers continue to air their feelings in support of the Kadapa MP. Thus, the growing rumblings and infighting within the ruling party has come in handy for the Opposition parties, especially the Telugu Desam, to launch a tirade against the Rosaiah government by accusing the Chief Minister of being incompetent.
The Chief Minister seems to have realized that the time has come for him to act firmly and prove that he is not a weakling as was being construed by not only the Opposition parties, but also by those within the ruling Congress. The High Command seems to have already given a green signal to the Chief Minister to go ahead with setting right his house (ministry). Mr Rosaiah is likely to seek the permission of the AICC president to sack those ministers who have been openly aligning with Mr Jagan and also induct some new facers besides recalling some of his old colleagues. The Chief Minister is determined to have his own team rather than depend on one which was packed with YSR loyalists.
——NSS