Hyderabad, October 31: Even as the Congress leadership dismissed the resignation of Women and Child Welfare Minister K Surekha as a decision taken due to personal reasons, the move by her appears to have breathed some life into the dying movement to make YS Jagan Mohan Reddy chief minister.
Governor ND Tiwari, who received the resignation letter from Surekha last night, forwarded it to Chief Minister K Rosaiah today who in turn sent it back to the governor requesting him to accept it. Accordingly, Tiwari accepted her resignation.
Surekha, a hard core loyalist of Jagan Mohan Reddy for the favours she had secured from his father, has been strongly demanding since the day Rajasekhara Reddy died in a chopper crash that his scion be made chief minister.
Surekha decided that enough was enough and quit the cabinet after the party high command made it clear that Rosaiah would continue as the chief minister for more time than she had thought.
But with her action, Surekha has once again ignited demands from some Congressmen for the anointment of Jagan Mohan Reddy as chief minister. Some ministers who initially made a similar demand but mellowed down later now find themselves in an unenviable position. Neither can they demand installation of Jagan as chief minister and run the risk of inviting the wrath of the party nor stay with Rosaiah and distance themselves from their leader. Finding themselves at the crossroads, the ministers, who are known for their loyalty to Jagan Mohan Reddy, are making muted sounds in their bid not to hurt the feelings of either of the leaders.
Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and IT Minister K Venkata Reddy came out with statements that they were ready to toe Surekha’s line if it helped Jagan Mohan in any way. But those opposed to Jagan Mohan have started to describe Surekha’s exit from the cabinet as yet another attempt of the young MP’s supporters to bring pressure on the party high command. Endowments Minister Gade Venkata Reddy, who was a loyalist of Rajasekhara Reddy, found fault with Surekha for going to the Governor bypassing the Chief Minister and said it amounted to gross indiscipline.
Surekha’s comments that a particular community (Kamma) was gunning for Jagan Mohan Reddy too evoked sharp reaction from its members in the Congress, not to speak of those in the Telugu Desam and other parties.
Roads and Buildings Minister G Aruna Kumari faulted Surekha for alleging that the leaders of the community were carrying out a campaign of calumny against Jagan Mohan Reddy.
AT THE CROSSROADS
Minister Surekha’s resignation has put some other ministers, who initially supported Jagan for the CM post but later mellowed down, in an unenviable position.
They can neither back Jagan and invite the wrath of the high command nor support Rosaiah and distance themselves from Jagan
–Agencies