Hyderabad, September 21: There was intense speculation among the political circles and a section of the media, once again, on the possibility of State Cabinet reshuffle – additions and deletions –, though there was no clear indication from the High Command in this respect.
Indications from Delhi show that actually the High Command is not thinking about this subject for the present, as it is pre-occupied with other major issues which need immediate attention. The High Command is of the opinion, it is said, that the State Cabinet reshuffle could wait for some more time, particularly because many issues were involved in it, which needs careful thinking and attention. The separate Telangana issue is one such issue which is causing much head-ache to the Centre, though Justice Srikrishna Committee was appointed and it is expected to submit its report by the end of December this year.
The series of allegations of corruption that took place during the regime of former Chief Minister late Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and his family members, being raised by not only the Opposition parties but also by a section of the Congress leaders of the State, the Odarpu Yatra undertaken by YSR’s son and Kadapa Lok Sabha Member, Mr Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, much against the wishes of the High Command, and some of the Ministers and MLAs participating in it flouting its direction are the issues that are engaging the attention of the party leadership now-a-days. The High Command is currently engaged in an exercise of weighing the pros and cons of taking disciplinary action against the Ministers and MLAs who are participating in the Jagan Yatra. The party leadership is thinking that any such action might precipitate matters and might ultimately cause irreparable damage to the party and its image.
Due to these reasons, the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle in the next few weeks appears to be far remote, according to indications. The party leadership is, however, stated to be toying with the idea of advising the Chief Minister to appoint a Deputy Chief Minister from the Telangana region while undertaking the Cabinet reshuffle.
Simultaneously with the Cabinet reshuffle, the High Command might also effect changes in the Congress party in the State, by replacing the present incumbent, Mr D Sreenivas. Whether a leader from the Andhra region could be appointed as PCC chief after giving Deputy Chief Minister’s post to a Telanganaite, or it should be given again to one from Telangana Region, as the Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly happen to be from Andhra region, is one issue that needs to be decided by the High Command now. It is said that at this juncture, the High Command is not in favour of appointing a leader from Seemandhra region as PCC Chief, which might further hurt the feelings of the Telangana leaders.
In all probability, when a reshuffle takes place, if at all, a leader from Telangana would be appointed Deputy Chief Minister and the PCC chief also would be from the same region. The names of Dr Geetha Reddy and Mr K Jana Reddy are being mentioned as probables for the Deputy Chief Minister post, while the name of Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah is being mentioned for PCC chief’s post, along with some others.
——–NSS