Sabita, Dharmana likely to get axe - TeluguPeople.com News

HYDERABAD: On a day when PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana could not get the audience of his party supremo Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had the opportunity of meeting his party boss in Delhi on Friday.

Kiran Reddy, who went to Delhi a day before Botcha's arrival there, has been asked by his party high command to stay put there till Saturday, even as the PCC chief returned to Hyderabad on Friday night.

The two developments, some State Congress leaders interpreted, showed the clout enjoyed by Kiran Reddy with the party high command. This, despite a bunch of complaints filed against his style of functioning, they pointed out.

This was because Kiran was in the good books of AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, reasoned a top Congress politico, who recently met his Delhi bosses.

As far as the issue of dropping the tainted ministers from the Cabinet is concerned, the high command is learnt to have given a free hand to the Chief Minister.

Since Kiran is said to be against the proposal of acting against the tainted ministers, Home Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy and Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao might be continued in the Cabinet for now, party leaders felt.

'Kiran doesn't want to drop the tainted ministers as he fears that it will destabilise his government, which is surviving on a wafer-thin majority. He told the same thing to the party high command,' said a source.

A flurry of activity was witnessed in Delhi on Friday on the AP front with Kiran Reddy meeting Sonia and AICC state affairs incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad one after another. Later, Congress core group had met under the leadership of Sonia. After that Azad separately met the AICC supremo only after holding a one-on-one with Kiran Reddy on the AP affairs.

Meanwhile, as per the party leadership's directive, the Chief Minister will continue to stay in the national capital even on Saturday to meet Rahul Gandhi there.

Though Kiran Reddy's series of meetings with his party bosses triggered various speculations on the possible decisions of the high command with regard to state party affairs, some Congress seniors in the state said that the high command might not take any 'hard decisions' at present as the party leadership does not want to disturb the present 'peace and quiet' atmosphere in the state with its 'experiments', which might backfire on the government in the run-up to the 2014 polls.

'The Congress high command seems to have more or less decided to continue the status quo on every issue relating to the State. Whether it is Telangana or overhaul of the Cabinet, the party leadership is not ready to take any sort of risks right now,' a former MP, who met his Delhi bosses recently, told Express.

'Cong Top Brass Not Worried over Telangana, Jagan Factors'

State Congress leaders and cadres might be worrying about the adverse fallout of the Jagan factor and T-sentiment on Congress's prospects in the ensuing general elections, but the Congress high command is learnt to be unperturbed over the matter.

On Telangana, the high command is said to be of the opinion that a positive decision on statehood would make the party invite the wrath of Seemandhra people, which could pave the way for TDP's revival there and deal a blow to the Congress with long-term reprecussions.

Hence, the party leadership wants to continue the status quo as it is confident that, in the worst case scenario of the party faring poorly in the 2014 polls, it can strike a post-poll alliance with the TRS in Telangana and the YSRC in Seemandhra, according to Congress insiders.