Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today revamped his Council of Ministers by inducting two legislators of the Praja Rajyam Party and sacking maverick Textiles Minister P Shanker Rao.
State Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ganta Srinivasa Rao, a member of the Legislative Assembly, and C Ramachandraiah, a member of the Legislative Council, in a brief five-minute function at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of the chief minister, deputy chief minister C Damodar Rajanaraasimha, PRP chief and Tirupati MLA K Chiranjeevi, PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and others.
Most of the incumbent ministers, however, were conspicuous by their absence.
The only saving grace for the chief minister, who desperately wanted a complete overhaul of his Cabinet in the light of growing discord among the ministers, was the approval he got from the Congress high command to drop the Textiles Minister.
Shanker Rao, a Dalit leader from Telangana, had become an embarrassment to the government as he constantly went public with his allegations of corruption against his fellow ministers as well as the chief minister.
Immediately after his removal from the Cabinet was officially notified, Shanker Rao slammed Kiran Kumar as well as AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad for "conspiring" against him.
Kiran Kumar will now have to wait till the completion of by-elections in different parts of the state to undertake a fresh re-organisation of the Cabinet.
Chiranjeevi wanted at least three Cabinet berths for his group of legislators but ultimately had to settle for two.
He is now seeking the prime portfolios of energy and commercial taxes for the two new ministers while other senior ministers are also keen on getting their portfolios changed.
The sacking of Shanker Rao increased the number of "vacancies" under the "Telangana quota" to three (two ministers resigned previously on the statehood issue).