Botcha Satyanarayana’s latest jibes at Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for the power crisis in the state has again brought to fore the enmity between the two.
Published: 12th August 2012 10:39 AM | Last Updated: 12th August 2012 02:27 PM
At a time when the Congress high command is in a fix over how to set the house in order in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of the drubbing that it received in the recent byelections, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Botcha Satyanarayana seem to be reverting to moving in different directions.
Botcha’s recent jibes at Kiran Reddy prove this, Botcha a few days ago publicly expressed his displeasure over the ongoing power crisis in the state and attributed the shortage of natural gas supplies to power plants in the state to the lackadaisical attitude of the present and past governments.
Much to the chagrin of the chief minister’s camp, the APCC chief even publicly apologised to the people of the state on the power crisis. Botcha’s apology has in fact created a furore among Congress leaders. Several leaders, particularly those close to Kiran Reddy, are wondering what the APCC chief's real motives could be.
“By apologising to the people, the APCC chief appeared to have tried to expose the state government’s failure in averting the power crisis. How could Botcha blame his own government? It seems the APCC chief is putting in all efforts to embarrass the chief minister on every issue,” opined a former minister from coastal Andhra, who did not want to be identified.
Continuing his tirade against Kiran Reddy, Botcha said that it was a stroke of luck that Kiran Kumar Reddy became the chief minister though he had not held any ministerial post earlier. Interestingly, the APCC chief made these remarks soon after meeting the party state affairs incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad at New Delhi last week.
Further annoying the chief minister’s camp, Botcha also said that he would be happy if Chiranjeevi is made the Chief Minister of the state.
Some leaders believe that with these utterances, the APCC chief has endorsed the predictions of ministers like C Ramachandraiah and Ganta Srinivasa Rao, close aides of Chiranjeevi, that the actor-turned politician would soon become the chief minister.
It may be mentioned here that Botcha, Ramachandraiah and Ganta are from Kapu community, to which the matinee idol belongs.
“By seconding Chiranjeevi, Botcha has backed the claim of Kiran Reddy’s detractors in the Congress that the latter should be removed from the chief minister’s post,” felt a senior MLA from Rayalaseema.
Botcha also tried to put Kiran Reddy in a tight spot recently by demanding total liquor prohibition in the state at a time when the government is striving hard to maximise financial resources. Some other instances include Botcha’s opposition to Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu scheme and openly expressing his displeasure over being alloted the transport portfolio.
- Sunday Standard
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