DS remarks splits Rosaiah cabinet

The statement of Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh would be done in the next couple of years and that there would be separate elections for Telangana and Andhra in 2014 triggered a lot of unrest within the Rosaiah cabinet on Thursday.

A heated discussion is understood to have taken place in the Cabinet over DS statement. Ministers like N Raghuveera Reddy and Gade Venkat Reddy strongly objected to the PCC president’s statement, stating that it would damage the party prospects in the other two regions. “DS might have made the statement keeping in view the by-elections. But he has forgotten that he is a PCC president and he represents the entire state. His statement will have a value and it will send a message to the people in other regions that the Congress has already decided to divide the state,” the two ministers said.

Other ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and D Sridhar Babu tried to defend the PCC chief saying unless he made such a statement, the party would not get any benefit in the by-elections. “Anyway, it is not even in the hands of the Congress party. The Srikrishna Committee is looking into the issue and it has to make some recommendation,” they argued.

Some ministers are also upset with the PCC president’s claim that he would become Deputy Chief Minister if he wins the elections. “It shows his overambitious nature and it might boomerang on him in the elections,” a minister observed.