AP: Why is Kiran Reddy cabinet shy?

Hyderabad: Holding cabinet meetings seems to have become a bugbear for chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. Completing 21 months in office, the chief minister has hardly conducted 14 meetings so far, with an average of one meeting in every two months. Before Kiran Reddy took reins of the government, the then chief minister K Rosaiah held the state cabinet meet twice in a month. Similar was the case with Rosaiah’s predecessors late YS Rajasekhara Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu.

Rosaiah, during his 14 months tenure as the chief minister, chaired a total of 28 meetings. Late YS Rajasekhara Reddy invited as many as 20 meetings in 2008 itself. Soon after ascending the throne for the second time in 2009, YSR had conducted cabinet meeting for 13 times till his demise in a helicopter crash in September 2009. Chandrababu Naidu also used to summon his cabinet colleagues to meet twice in a month.

The meetings became a rare occurance when Kiran Reddy took over. After taking oath as the chief minister on November 24, 2010, Kiran Reddy held his first cabinet meet on December 2 and the next on Dec 30. Later, he called the meeting on February 14, 2011 and 23rd of the same month. The subsequent meetings followed on April 16, May 24, June 16, August 16, October 29 and November 30 in 2011. In the present year, the state cabinet has met only five times so far: on January 30, Feb 17, March 18, June 29 and August 31 only.

According to Kiran Reddy’s colleagues in the state cabinet, since the chief minister did not hold any ministerial post prior to occupying the seat of power, he hesitated to hold the meetings regularly, fearing verbal attack from some senior ministers on key decisions. PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana’s objection to the CM’s unilateral decision on new schemes like the Rajiv Yuvakiranalu during cabinet meets could be cited as a classic example.

Some ministers felt that naming of ministers in the charge-sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged illegal assets case against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy might have discouraged Kiran Reddy to hold the meetings. “The CBI’s assertive approach towards the ministers facing charges in the issuance of controversial GOs could also be a reason for Kiran’s reluctance as the issue might have created violent opposition,” said a minister.