Anam sulks at talk about his being replaced

The discomfiture on the face of Mr Anam Ramnarayana Reddy on Thursday was a telltale sign that the rumours doing rounds about his being replaced as the Finance Minister in the next Cabinet reshuffle are true.

According to sources, Mr Ramnarayana Reddy is not happy with the proposal that he be replaced by the Praja Rajyam Party’s C Ramachandraiah in the Cabinet and this has put a strain on the otherwise very cordial relationship he shares with Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Though the Chief Minister is yet to take a decision on whether to induct Mr Ramachandraiah in the Cabinet as the state’s Finance Minister, he is said to be seriously considering the proposal.

Sources say that the Congress is actively considering giving high profile and important Cabinet berths to only two leaders from the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party and not four berths as earlier thought.

This would leave the PRP happy, while the Congress has more portfolios to keep its leaders satisfied.

However, this proposal is, at present, in its nascent stages. The High Command obviously has to take a final call, but before that, the Chief Minister has to work out the pros and cons.

This is said to be the reason behind Mr Ramnarayana Reddy being miffed with the Chief Minister and his sullen look at the Cabinet meeting held at the state Secretariat on Thursday.

Besides having to deal with a sulking Finance Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to have expressed his sadness at the absence of Ministers from Telangana region at the Cabinet meeting.

Four of the ten Ministers who had returned to the city after their meetings with Congress Core Committee member Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Wednesday attended the Cabinet meeting while six Ministers were conspicuous by their absence today. These four Ministers Sunita Lakshma Reddy, DK Aruna, P Shankar Rao and Ram Reddy Venkat Reddy were present while K Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Sridhar Babu, Basavaraju Saraiah, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Sudershan Reddy have stayed back in New Delhi.

Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to have said that though the Telangana issue is very sensitive, the six Ministers should have made sure that they are present in the city and attended the Cabinet meeting.