Live
- Will end Naxalism in Chhattisgarh by March 2026: Amit Shah
- Will gift one project daily to people during Jan Kalyan Parv
- Mahakumbh & the Politics of Sanatan Nationalism
- A Soulful Celebration of Global Music
- Brahmin Community delegation felicitates CM Saini
- Allu Arjun Visits Chiranjeevi’s House for Lunch Meet
- Toyota organising TG Grameena Mahotsav
- Special rituals conducted at Maramma Temple
- Siddaramaiah has special love for Muslims: BJP
- We can’t afford spending less than 6% of GDP on healthcare
Ministers revolt against Kiran
Ministers revolt against Kiran, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Cabinet meeting, vote on account budget. Botcha argued that the GO imposed huge burden on the exchequer and yet the issue was not brought before the cabinet and was not discussed.
- Telangana Ministers boycott the Cabinet meeting
- Five Ministers question escalation of project costs
- Irrigation projects outlay raised by about `20,000 cr
- Ministers grill CM on keeping the Cabinet in the dark about it
- Botcha even demands action against the Chief Secretary
Hyderabad: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday had to face severe criticism from Ministers from Telangana region as well as those from Seemandhra region at the Cabinet meeting that was convened to approve the vote on account budget.
While the meeting was boycotted by all Ministers from Telangana region protesting against the way the Chief Minister got the T Bill rejected by voice vote in the last session of the Assembly, five Seemandhra Ministers, Botcha Satyanarayana C Ramachandraiah Dokka Manikyavara Prasad, Vatti Vasant Kumar and Kondru Murali questioned the Chief Minister for keeping the Cabinet in dark about the decision to escalate the cost of irrigation projects under Jalayagnam by Rs 20,000 crore. Another Minister P Balaraju found fault with Kiran for tardy implementation of the welfare schemes meant for SC and STs.
Botcha demanded that the orders in regard to the irrigation projects be kept in abeyance and also wanted that action be taken against the Chief Secretary PK Mohanty for not bringing the issue before the Cabinet. Mohanty was not present in the meeting.
Botcha argued that the GO imposed huge burden on the exchequer and yet the issue was not brought before the cabinet and was not discussed. He alleged the GO had several clauses which benefit the private contractors. The decision, he said was not taken in a transparent manner.
Endowments Minister Ramachandraiah also opposed the move to revise the cost of the project on the grounds that they were getting delayed leading to cost escalation. He said all the Jalayagnam contracts were awarded under EPC system which takes care of cost escalation. Delay in the execution of the project should not be a reason to pay extra money to the contractors. If there had been any delay in execution, the officer concerned should be punished. It was not proper to put the burden on the people, he said.
It is learnt that Kiran told the Ministers that the matter was cleared by the Group of Ministers (GOM) and if they had anything to complain, they should give a note and the government would examine it. At this stage, Botcha was said to have given a note to the Chief Minister. Ramachandraiah went a step ahead and told Kiran that no one was aware of the decision of the GoM and questioned him as to why the decision of GoM was not placed before the cabinet.
Before the Cabinet met, all the T Ministers held a meeting at the house of Minister for Panchayat Raj K Jana Reddy to discuss their strategy. Interestingly, even the city ministers, Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud boycotted the meeting.
Despite an earlier advice by AICC general secretary in charge of state affairs Digvijay Singh to the contrary, they decided to boycott the meeting. The PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana met the T ministers after the Cabinet meeting to find out why they had resorted to such a measure. The T Ministers told him that they were unhappy with the CM for behaving like a Chief Minister of Seemandhra region and not the entire State.
