CBI chargesheet turns hot topic -'Tainted' mantris should quit on their own: Paladugu

Hyderabad: Should the ministers in Kiran Kumar Reddy's cabinet whose names were figured in the chargesheet filed by CBI be dropped by the Chief Minister or should they resign on their own?, is the hot topic of discussion in Congress circles.

Senior leaders like Paladugu Venkat Rao felt that the best option would be that Sabitha and all those whose names were figured in the six controversial GOs should resign on their own and the issue should be handled by the Chief Minister himself without pushing the ball into the court of the party high command.

"AICC has bigger issues to deal with. If these ministers resign on their own, people will appreciate them. Unless this issue is sorted out, various programmes being taken up by the Chief Minister will not help in reviving the electoral fortunes," said Rao.

He said Dharmana Prasada Rao's services could be utilised for party work as he happens to be a very good orator. Similarly, the other ministers whose names figured in the issue of controversial GOs could also be drafted for party work. Asked why the Chief Minister was hesitating to accept the resignation of Dharmana or Sabitha, Rao said for the Chief Minister it was a sensitive issue and to get out of such a tricky situation, he should have called for a meeting of the party senior leaders and consulted them.

At the same time, he clarified that he was not making this statement expecting a berth in the cabinet. "The party is getting weak and it needs to be saved," he remarked.A When asked to comment on whether or not the Home Minister should have resigned, AICC secretary P Sudhakar Reddy said that the matter should be left to the AICC since it was examining the contents of the chargesheet and taking legal opinion on what should be done in regard to the ministers whose names figured in chargesheet. He felt that the party leaders should show restraint and wait for the final word from the high command.

Meanwhile, leaders like Kanna Lakshminarayana, D Srinivas and K Keshav Rao said that one way to save the party in the 2014 elections would be to win back the BCs and Kapus.

They felt that apart from asking the party high command to come up with some packages for the BCs, it should project Union Minister of State for Tourism K Chiranjeevi as the party mascot to win over the BCs who constitute about 50 per cent of the population.

His services should also be used to see that the Kapus also got back to the Congress fold. A BCs in the past were said to be the backbone of TDP but now they have moved away from it, claimed the leaders.