Why these ministers dropped from cabinet?

Hyderabad: Four ministers, all Reddys, were dropped for their poor track record. J C Diwakar Reddy, who was the panchayat raj minister in the previous regime, was dropped because he indulged in factional violence in his native Anantapur district bringing the Congress into disrepute, sources said.

In fact, there were several reasons for ignoring Diwakar Reddy. Apart from the faction politics, Diwakar Reddy had kicked up a row by entering into a war of words with fellow minister G Surya Rao after the latter alleged that Diwakar Reddy as in-charge minister of East Godavari district had taken bribe from sand mining contractors.

Besides, Diwakar had also encouraged his brother J C Prabhakar Reddy when the latter abused RTA officials for seizing the buses owned by the family for violating the law.

By evening when they came to know about his non-inclusion in the Cabinet, angry followers of Diwakar Reddy attacked the office of a Telugu daily in Ananatpur district. Rajasekhar, Tadipatry reporter of the daily suffered 35 per cent burn injuries when the mob tried to set fire to the daily’s office. He was rushed to Anantpur government hospital, where his condition is said to be serious. However, Diwakar Reddy denied involvement of his supporters in the incident and said it was an attempt by opponents to malign him.

In the case of K Jana Reddy, who had served as home minister in the previous cabinet, his not getting Congress candidates elected from his native Nalgonda district is said to be the main reason for his not finding a berth in the new Cabinet. Also, his proximity to Union minister S Jaipal Reddy, his utterances on Telangana and complaints that a member of his family was involved in a licence renewal racket involving clubs also contributed to his downfall.

As far as the other two ministers are concerned, non-performance is said to be the main reason for their exclusion this time.

Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy, who was the civil supplies minister, was dropped as he failed to take action against rice millers who resorted to hoarding leading to scarcity of rice and an abnormal increase in its price in the open market. Similarly, R Damodar Reddy was dropped because of non-performance as IT minister in the previous Cabinet. At a time when the IT sector was going through a crisis, Damodar Reddy failed to take any steps, which is said to have upset the chief minister. However, his brother R Venkata Reddy has been accommodated in the Cabinet.