The sacked health minister of Andhra Pradesh, Duggireddy Lakshmireddy Ravindra Reddy (DLR), who proudly uttered his full name in his mirth of being inducted into the State Cabinet by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy two-and-a-half years ago, was kicked out.
Based on a recommendation of the Chief Minister, Governor ESL Narasimhan dismissed D L Ravindra Reddy from the State Cabinet. The Chief Minister’s camp sent a strong message that he could do away with the politically strong Reddy community too. Signals are available to the extent that two more ministers could also be shown the door. The axe could fall on Chiranjeevi loyalist minsiter C Ramachandraiah also. And there are remote chances that Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Raja Narasimha may also be eased out of the Cabinet.
At a time when two Telangana MPs G Vivek and M Jagannadham and former APCC president K Keshav Rao took things to a point of no return with regard to Telangana issue, the Congress core committee, which met on Saturday evening, reportedly considered a few options, including the replacement of the Chief Minister himself.
DLR’s ouster came at a time when he was in London and is expected to reach Hyderabad in a couple of days. While this is surely a political victory for Kiran Kumar Reddy, the million dollar question is against whom had he scored this. For, fighting DLR is not an issue before the Chief Minister as compared to the Herculean tasks of taking on the TDP and the YSRC.
The ejection of DLR from his team might give the Chief Minister an upper hand over his colleagues and his detractors, but it is not known if the green signal to throw out the minister could be construed as a prelude to a Cabinet shake-up or fulfilling the last wish of an ‘outgoing’ Chief Minister.
Ravindra Reddy has been a bete noire of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ever since the latter became the Leader of the Opposition in 1999. After YSR brought the Congress to power, Ravindra Reddy had no option but to remain silent and could not measure up to the towering political personality of the late Rajasekhara Reddy.
He began spewing venom against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and had conducted several press conferences highlighting the alleged corruption of Jagan in the Emaar Properties and he showed some files of APIIC.
DLR used to fly off the handle even without the slightest of provocations against Jagan. Truly reciprocating the blabber of DLR against Jagan, Kiran Kumar Reddy accommodated DLR in the Cabinet clubbing all the portfolios related to department of medical and health.
Fissures between the Chief Minister and DLR surfaced when the latter was pitted against Jagan in the byelection caused due to the latter’s resignation from the Congress and the Lok Sabha.
DLR was trampled under feet by the YSR Congress and the minister had to forfeit his deposits. Ever since, DLR began his tirade against Kiran in a systematic manner and stepped it up at every opportune time. He charged the Chief Minister with making him a scapegoat in the by election.
DLR has been firing his salvos through numerous missives to the Congress high command against the Chief Minister. He was very critical of Kiran Reddy for making the cabinet reject the resignation of Dharmana Prasada Rao saying that it wasn’t for the cabinet to take a call but the responsibility lay on the Chief Minister. He gave a dissent note against the cabinet’s rejection of permission to the CBI to prosecute Dharmana.
He went hammer and tongues against the chief minister on several occasions and many government schemes.
DLR is the second Cabinet minister to have been necked out. Kiran, who rewarded P Shanker Rao with a Cabinet berth as part of an unwritten quid pro quo arrangement for writing a letter to the State High Court against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, in return. The High Court took the case as a public interest litigation as a result of which Jagan is languishing in the prison. After Shanker Rao “outlived his utility”, he was dismissed. So two of Kiran’s own team are out of the Cabinet.
This is nothing but one more act of shooting in its feet by the Congress. DLR may not be capable of raising the banner of revolt or leading a coup within the Congress. But, surely, people like him and Shanker Rao and even Ramachandraiah are of a great nuisance value. They could queer pitch for the already trembling Congress. The ousted minister’s relative Gade Venkata Reddy is also a Congress MLA and even if two MLAs feel it so, they can pull the rug from under the feet of the Congress easily.
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