Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Cong., CPI flay continuation of Housing Minister in Cabinet

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Sept. 18. The Congress Legislature Party on Thursday criticised the Government for allowing the Housing Minister, P. Ramasubba Reddy, to continue in the Cabinet despite the adverse remarks on his continuance as a Minister by the High Court.

The continuation of the accused in a double murder case in the Cabinet only showed that the government is not having any faith even in the courts. "If the Government has any respect for courts and their verdicts, it would have by now ousted Ramasubba Reddy from the Cabinet," the CLP members P Shankar Rao, P Jaganmohan Rao, K.R Suresh Reddy, and others said.

Reiterating their demand for the dismissal of the Government, the Congress legislators said in a press release that the Government had no right to continue in power even for a single day in the wake of scams and scores of irregularities coming to light every day. "The Chief Minister's office and the Ministers' offices have become hubs for corruption and nefarious activities," they said.

During the eight-year tenure of the present Government, the State had witnessed scams worth thousands of crores, unemployment, farmers' suicides, complete neglect of irrigation sector and corruption in the Chief Minister's relief fund. Despite all these, it is absurd and ridiculous that the TDP leaders make claims about their honesty.

However, they said the people were intelligent and would definitely dethrone the TDP whenever elections were held. The TDP leaders should refrain themselves from mudslinging on the Congress which is making constructive criticism, they added.

CPI demands dismissal of Minister

Meanwhile, the State Council of the CPI has demanded immediate dismissal of Ramasubba Reddy from the Cabinet, "to uphold morality in public life and to put an end to criminalisation of politics."

In a statement, S. Sudhakar Reddy, secretary of the State council, said the AP High Court's caustic remarks against the Minister, was like a resounding slap on the Government and mirrors the hypocrisy of the Chief Minister who waxes eloquent on virtues of morality and values in public life, at the drop of a hat.

He said the CPI and other parties have all along been demanding his dismissal from the Cabinet but Mr. Naidu had been adopting stonewalling tactics. Even now if he had any respect towards judiciary, faith in democracy and probity in public life, he should sack the Minister. The argument that the courts have not found him guilty, does not hold water as it is the police which has to prosecute him. "The TDP Government has become a safe haven for politicians with criminal background, with the arrest of former Minister Krishna Yadav and court's criticism of the Minister."

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