Andhra cabinet re-organisation may happen soon

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will be carrying a list of probables for possible induction into the state cabinet to New Delhi on Wednesday to seek the Congress high command`s nod for the revamp excercise which is likely this weekend.

The number of vacancies in the state Council of Ministers increased to seven following the resignation of two ministers and dismissal of another in recent days. Apart from approval for the cabinet re-organisation, the Chief Minister will also get the names of probables screened to finalise the list so that the excercise could be completed at the earliest. "If everything goes well, the revamp may happen by this weekend as the budget session of the state legislature is due to resume on June 10. Otherwise, it will have to be delayed till the third week," a senior minister close to the Chief Minister said. During his interaction with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary, in charge of AP affairs, Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi last week, the Chief Minister could only get the approval for removal of Health Minister DL Ravindra Reddy from the cabinet. Ravindra was sacked on Saturday night even as the Chief Minister’s aides spread talk that the axe might fall on at least two other ministers. Congress sources here indicate that Kiran is keen on removing Endowments Minister C Ramachandraiah, who, like Ravindra, has been criticising the government over a host of issues. With Congress taking the stance that all "tainted" ministers should be removed, a question mark hangs on the fate of at least three ministers who are under the CBI scanner in the illegal assets case against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. PTI