Cabinet meets today after over 2 months

Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is holding his first Cabinet meeting in two-and-a-half months on Saturday after the government’s role was reduced to a mere spectator amid protests within the council of ministers and a 42-day-long general strike led by government employees in the Telangana region that almost crippled the state machinery.

The last meeting was held on August 16 unusually at the chief minister’s camp office, also the first time in recent memory, with ministers from the Telangana region shying away from entering the secretariat as ruling party MLAs in Telangana went on a resignation spree in support of the statehood demand.

In normal course, the government holds Cabinet meeting every fortnight.

Governance and decision making process almost came to a standstill and activity in many key areas stopped, including alienation of land for projects for want of final approval for the newly sought land allotment policy. Several cabinet colleagues also differed with the chief minister on policy issues while one minister went a step ahead by making open accusations against his fellow ministers of corruption.

Ego clash between chief minister and state transport minister B Satyanarayana after he was made PCC president became so acute that the latter had stopped visiting the secretariat for the past couple of months.

The ministers also accused the chief minister of not taking them into confidence in matters such as launch of new welfare schemes like the Rs 1-a kg rice.

Absence of active political leadership combined with recent allegations of scams involving the previous Congress government, has also affected the functioning of senior bureaucrats and administration, officials say. With some ministers openly airing their views on government decisions, the officials have become extra careful in bringing the matters for Cabinet approval, according to them.

However, the return of Telangana ministers to official duties and the end of employees strike are expected to lift the morale of the government. The meeting is expected to discuss the reach-the-people programme being launched from November 1 among other things.