Will growing dissidence trouble CM Kiran?

A peculiar situation is prevailing in the state politics where a cat and rat game is enacted by the ruling Congress leaders. Delhi turned out as a centre point for playing politics and anti-Kiran propaganda is gaining momentum.

The national capital witnessed high drama as many ministers and senior Congress leaders, the majority of them detractors of Kiran Reddy, meeting AICC president Sonia Gandhi  and in-charge of AP affair Gulam Nabi Azad explaining his style of functioning  causing damage to the party’s image. They are able to carry on the message to Sonia that the majority of the council of ministers is against Kiran.

Union Minister of State for Tourism Chiranjeevi had a rare opportunity of sharing views with Sonia after a long time for more than one-and-half hours. Backing his erstwhile PRP leader and minister C Ramachandraiah, he reportedly carried to Sonia that how people are feeling on the functioning of the Chief Minister. He also took the opportunity to explain her how Kiran was introducing the new schemes without consulting his ministerial colleagues and how he was backing his own group neglecting other leaders in the party. Without touching DL Ravindra Reddy’s dismissal issue, Chiranjeevi is learnt to have briefed Sonia about the outbursts of other ministers on the decision of the party. He also informed his observations on the party to Gulam Nabi Azad. 

PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana, who is also in Delhi, met Azad and other senior leaders only to explain them the growing dissidence against Kiran. Minister for Technical Education and Deputy Chief Minister Damodara Rajanarasimha, who packed up his scheduled EAMCET-2013 results programme hurriedly on Wednesday, rushed to Delhi. Incidentally, Kiran Reddy returned to Hyderabad after attending CMs’ meeting on internal security and meeting Azad and tentatively at the same time, Rajanarasimha boarded a flight to Delhi. The Deputy CM was busy with meeting party senior leaders in Delhi on Thursday.  

Meanwhile, the number of ministers who raised objections over dismissal of DL Ravindra Reddy is increasing a day after his outbursts before the media and insult meted out by him at the CLP office. Sacking a minister, who served as party leader for 35 years is a major mistake and rejecting him to hold press conference at the CLP office is a bigger mistake. One has to accept that Congress politics became a murkier with the happenings at CLP. It created a sort of sympathy to DL as several ministers expressed the same towards him. 

Ministers Botsa and Jana Reddy observed that DL may be asked to resign and it is unfair to send him out unceremoniously. Though some have fellow-feeling towards DL, leaders like Danam Nagender consoled him saying it was the decision of the Congress party high command. He further commented that Congress chief ministers will not take such hard decisions independently. 

Taking advantage of DL’s ouster, Congress MLAs from YSR Kadapa district Veerasiva Reddy and Varadarajulu Reddy made a scathing attack against him by making so many charges. Probably, they might have made these charges anticipating ministerial berths in the place of DL, a leader of anti-Kiran group commented on Thursday.

Politics ahead of Cabinet meet

Kiran Kumar Reddy may face a rough weather at the cabinet meet scheduled on Friday after three months.  DL’s dismissal created a group in the council of ministers. Moreover, anti-Kiran group is making all out efforts in Delhi to curtail powers of Kiran Reddy. Ministers, who are against Kiran, may play a spoilsport even during the assembly session beginning from June 10. The Chief Minister is eager to bring a legislature on his pet “Bangaru Talli” programme. Besides the Opposition parties in the assembly, Kiran has to face leaders from his own party. Undoubtedly, it is a tight rope walk for Kiran till the end of the assembly session.

-aks@Sakshipost