Kiran in wait & watch mode over Dharmana's resignation

Andhra Pradesh Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, facing corruption charge, will continue in his post for some more time as Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy appears to be in no hurry to accept his resignation. Kiran Reddy is said to be in no mood to accept the resignation of Dhamana, who holds the Road and Buildings portfolio, any time soon and leave him exposed.

The CM reportedly gave this indication when a few Ministers met him this morning upon his return from a two-day trip to New Delhi. Let the (Special CBI) Court admit the chargesheet (naming Dharmana) first. We will see the Court's reaction and then decide whether or not to accept the resignation. We are also taking legal opinion on this, Kiran reportedly told his Cabinet colleagues. Also, the chief minister would like to seek Dharmana's version before according sanction to the CBI's request for the latter's prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act. If the Minister's resignation is accepted, the CBI will have a free hand to prosecute him. The chief minister does not want this. That's the reason he is keeping Dharmana's resignation on hold, a Minister said after meeting Kiran. Incidentally, the Congress high command had put the ball into Kiran's court after he sought its guidance on the resignation issue. The chief minister declined to give any reply when reporters asked him today about Dharmana's resignation. Dharmana submitted his resignation to the CM on August 14, a day after CBI named him as the fifth accused in the Vanpic Project land allotment scandal, which is part of the ongoing probe into the assets case.

The scandal pertains to allotment of land to Vanpic Project (for an industrial corridor) when Dharmana was Revenue Minister in the erstwhile Y S R Reddy Government. I am quitting on moral grounds. I will fight the case and come out clean, Dharmana had announced after submitting his resignation. Without taking a decision himself, the chief minister had sought the Congress high command's guidance on the resignation issue. During his visit to New Delhi on August 23-24, Kiran discussed the issue with the Congress top brass, including party president Sonia Gandhi, but was reportedly asked to deal with it himself. The chief minister returned to Hyderabad late last night and there was expectation that he would forward Dharmana's resignation to Governor for acceptance today. However, there were no indications from the Chief Minister's Office on this and Kiran himself declined to say anything, though he addressed the media on the SC/ST Special Component Plan.

PTI