The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Abiding by oath of office

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Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Abiding by oath of office

By Our Staff Reporter

NIZAMABAD, NOV. 1. The Minister for Transport, S. Santosh Reddy, has said the Ministers of the TRS in the State Cabinet will decide themselves whether to continue in the Government or resign only after meeting the All India Congress Committee president and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi.

Talking to reporters after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of the Andhra Pradesh Formation Day at the Police Parade Grounds here on Monday, Mr. Reddy said as a Minister he was not supposed to wear a black badge and observe the day as black day.

No black badges

"I should abide by the oath of office and secrecy taken during my swearing in ceremony as a Cabinet Minister and also to the collectivism," he said, adding, "I had to unfurl the flag as the senior Minister in the district."

"Had I not participated in the official celebrations I would have forfeited the right to continue as a member of the Cabinet," he said. That did not mean the party workers should not observe the black day and the dharna, he added.

He said, "The TRS Ministers in the State have decided not to wear black badges and boycott the celebrations. As Ministers we are not supposed to do so." Asked whether he would visit the dharna camp of the TRS workers, he replied in the affirmative.

Mr. Reddy later talking to The Hindu over phone said he was not against the cause of separate Telangana and one needs not doubt his loyalty towards it. "I was jailed for two months during the separate Telangana movement in 1969," he said.

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