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| YSR sworn in for second term |
| BS Reporter / Chennai/ Hyderabad May 21, 2009, 00:29 IST |
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Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was unanimously elected as the leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Tuesday, was sworn-in as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the second consecutive term on Wednesday.
Soon after governor ND Tiwari administered him the oath of office and secrecy at a public ceremony in the sprawling Lal Bahadur stadium, Reddy was blessed by Hindu, Christian and Muslim priests.
Reddy, in a jubilant mood, entered the jam-packed venue of the swearing-in-ceremony in an open top jeep waiving his hand to his enthusiastic supporters. Besides his wife, his son Jaganmohan Reddy and his close friend and adviser K V P Ramachandra Rao were among others who accompanied him.
Even in 2004, when Reddy became the chief minister for the first time, he took oath of office at the same venue. For the record, he is the 22nd chief minister to take over the reins ever since the formation of the state.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the chief minister said his government would continue the ongoing welfare and development programmes in the state. During the last five years, 15 irrigation projects had been completed and the remaining projects would be executed during his current term, Reddy said.
In the midst of his speech, Reddy dramatically signed two files pertaining to raising the duration of free power supply to the farm sector from the existing 7 hours to 9 hours a day and increasing the supply of Rs 2-a-kg-rice from 20 kg to 30 kg for each white ration cardholder. The two welfare measures were his pre-poll promises.
Reddy, who single-handedly steered the Congress to victory in the just concluded general elections, is the first Congress chief minister in the state who has completed the full five-year term and also retained the coveted position in the new government.
The chief minister is stated to be now fine-tuning the list of persons who could be inducted into his Cabinet. The list would be sent for the approval of the Congress president Sonia Gandhi before it is finalised. The Congress currently has 157 legislators in the 294-member Assembly, of which 73 are new faces.
As the chief minister has reportedly decided not to take first timers into his ministry, the new ministers would be selected from the 84 legislators, who have been elected to the Assembly for two or more terms.
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