Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday decided to drop his Cabinet colleague, Konda Surekha from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect, amid a row over the remarks made against him and others by the woman leader's daughter.
A recommendation to this effect has been made to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, a CMO release said.
Surekha, state Forest and Endowments Minister, has been in the eye of a storm following the critical remarks made by her daughter against the chief minister and other party leaders, drawing sharp responses from the ruling party MLAs and functionaries.
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Besides sacking Surekha, the chief minister also rescinded the appointment of G Chinna Reddy as Vice Chairman of State Planning Board with immediate effect.
The developments came following confabulations held by CM Revanth Reddy, his deputy Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud with AICC leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal, in Delhi during the last few days.
The disciplinary committee of the Congress' state unit had earlier recommended to the party leadership to take tough action against Surekha and Chinna Reddy.
{{/usCountry}}The disciplinary committee of the Congress' state unit had earlier recommended to the party leadership to take tough action against Surekha and Chinna Reddy.
{{/usCountry}}Surekha had also met Kharge and AICC incharge of party affairs Meenakshi Natarajan in the national capital and presented her version to them.
Surekha told reporters on Wednesday that she said she urged the party leadership to let her continue in the cabinet, asserting that she has been performing well as a minister and faced no allegations of corruption.
Pointing to the demand by several Congress MLAs to initiate disciplinary action against her for not condemning her daughter's remarks against the CM and others, Surekha said none of the MLAs spoke voluntarily and that "somebody" was behind them.
Asked who was behind the MLAs, she declined to name anyone, saying it would lead to a controversy.
She also sought disciplinary action against MLAs who spoke against her.
Surekha found fault with the notice being issued to her by the disciplinary committee.
She also said she has sent emails to top leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Asked if she supported her daughter's comments, Surekha replied that her daughter was independent and that she should not be made responsible for the comments.
Besides Surekha, the disciplinary committee of state Congress had also recommended action against Chinna Reddy who criticised party MLA Tudi Meghareddy.
Following the rescinding of Chinna Reddy's appointment in the State Planning Board, the government appointed state Women's Commission Chairperson Gadwal Vijayalakshmi as the new VC of Planning Board.
Congress leader Nerella Sharada is the Chairperson of the women's commission.
In another appointment, former MP G Sudha Rani has been made the Chairperson of Kakatiya Urban Development Board (KUDA) of Warangal.