[1]Hyderabad: With the Opposition stepping up pressure on the Chief Minister to drop the so called ‘tainted’ ministers from the Cabinet, there is heavy competition among Kiran Kumar Reddy’s cabinet colleagues over the ‘home’ portfolio. The portfolio is presently held by Sabita Indra Reddy who may be shifted to some other portfolio in wake of the CBI naming her as one of the accused in the Jagan illegal investments case.
It is learnt that the CM intends to shift Sabita Reddy from the home portfolio, as he thinks it will not go well for the minister incharge of the police department to appear before the court. The final decision on Sabita Reddy, as a minister or holding the home portfolio is the subject now before the Congress central leadership with whom the CM is likely to hold talks during his Delhi tour around April 15.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to reach Delhi on Thursday and take stock of the developments.
Sabita Reddy is the only woman in the country to hold the home portfolio since 2009. It is learnt that Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, in charge of the higher and technical education portfolio now, has been eyeing the home portfolio since he was elevated to the post.
He made his intentions known to the party central leadership several times, citing a few precedents of his predecessors holding the home portfolio. But the CM is said to be avoiding changing the home portfolio from a woman minister ever since the demand came from the Deputy CM.
Since Sabita Reddy is from the Telangana region, and in the event of change in portfolio, it should generally go to another minister from the same region. The names of two other woman ministers from the region, D.K. Aruna and Suneetha Laxma Reddy are making the rounds.
Talking to this correspondent, Aruna said, “It is all rumours. I will always abide by whatever the High Command decides for me.“
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