Hyderabd, June 17: There was high drama at the Secretariat on Tuesday after the three ministers handling education squabbled like schoolboys over who
should have control over the Intermediate portfolio.
In the recent allocation of portfolios, Ahmedullah Syed got primary education; Manikya Varaprasada Rao was given secondary education; and higher education went to D Sreedhar Babu. According to sources, Sreedhar Babu originally held the Intermediate portfolio but chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy re-allotted it to Varaprasada Rao.
On Tuesday, the three ministers’ wrangling even delayed a press conference they were scheduled to address jointly.
The issue figured in the meeting the three ministers had with MLCs in the afternoon. Many of the MLCs opposed shifting Intermediate to secondary education portfolio. But finally, and to the chagrin of Sreedhar Babu, it was decided that it will stay with Varaprasada Rao.
Sridhar Babu later told the media that the government had not merged the Intermediate department with the secondary education department but only changed the portfolio. He also emphasized that the extant rules will continue and that the change was only at the ministerial level.
–Agencies–