Rumours swirl as Telangana CM Revanth Reddy considers cabinet reshuffle

HYDERABAD: Is Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy contemplating to rope in a BRS MLA, who recently joined the Congress, into his Cabinet when he undertakes its expansion?

Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha has dropped a subtle hint to this effect during an informal interaction with the media here on Monday.

Now, rumour mills are working overtime predicting that it could be Danam Nagender, who won from the Khairatabad Assembly segment on the BRS ticket. After the Congress formed the government in the state, he joined the grand old party and even contested unsuccessfully from Secunderabad as the Congress candidate in Lok Sabha elections.

Rajanarasimha also hinted that there might be a reshuffle in the portfolios of the existing ministers. Though Revanth Reddy had said in the past that only those who won the Assembly election on Congress B forms would be considered for Cabinet berths, there might be an exception to the rule this time.

He said that Dansari Anasuya alias Seethakka, who currently holds Panchayat Raj & Rural Development as well as Women & Child Welfare portfolios, is likely to be appointed as home minister.

Rajanarsimha’s statement acquires significance in the backdrop of the CM meeting Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Monday where he is understood to have discussed the impending Cabinet expansion.

The health minister also revealed that Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy will be taken into the Cabinet, even though his elder brother Venkatareddy is already a minister. Another senior leader from Nizamabad is expected to make the cut for inclusion in the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the health minister said that strengthening the healthcare services in the state was the need of the hour, especially at the district level. He was addressing the media and a group of doctors on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day, observed on July 1 every year, marking the birth and death anniversary of the renowned physician Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy.

The minister said that efforts were being made for strengthening the healthcare system at district-level so that the common man would not have to travel all the way to Hyderabad for quality medical treatment.