Congress Mulling Over Dy Chief Minister For AP
posted on May 10, 2011 @ 6:50PM
If the grapevine is to be believed, AP is going to get a deputy chief minister from Telangana region shortly to tackle the renewed movement to carve a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh. The pro-Telangana TRS party and TJAC have vowed to intensify their stir for a separate Telangana from this month. The ruling party is believed to be gearing up to appoint a deputy chief minister from Telangana region to counter the T-agitation.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to have discussed the issue with the Congress leadership during his visit to Delhi last Friday as the pro-Telangana forces including its own MPs are set to intensify the movement. If the Congress party agrees to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, it will open a Pandora's box with similar demands in other parts of the country and hence it wants to maintain the status quo, sources in the party said. Minister for Major Industries J Geeta Reddy and Minister for Higher Education Damodar Rajanarasimha are the front runners for the post. While naming Kiran Kumar as the chief minister November last year, the leadership had also announced that there will be a deputy chief minister from Telangana region.
The appointment is to honour agreement signed at the time of formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 that Telangana should have a deputy chief minister if the chief minister is from the other region. KV Ranga Reddy became the first deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1960. JV Narasing Rao, BV Subba Reddy and C Jagnnadha Rao were the other former deputy chief ministers.
This practice was discontinued in 1970s. Telangana leaders say this violation was one of the key reasons for the demand for a separate state.