KCR Busy In Selecting Ministers; Par Secretaries, Etc.

Hyderabad, Jan.28 (Maxim News): Faced with the problem of selecting only limited number of Ministers while there are as many as 90 MLAs of the ruling party, the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to appoint more than a dozen Parliamentary Secretaries, to satisfy the aspirations of large number of legislators, it is learnt.

The Chief Minister can appoint 17 Ministers, apart from choosing the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Chief Whip, three whips, and also Chairpersons for State-owned Corporations like the RTC, TSIDC, TSIIC, Diary Development Corporation, etc. As is known, the Chief Minister will be inducting eight or ten Ministers in the first phase within the next few days, leaving scope for further expansion of the Ministry after the Lok Sabha elections due in March/April this year.

It is felt that the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries will go a long way in meeting the aspirations of a number of Legislators, both MLAs and MLCs, to a great extent. The Chief Minister is reported to have decided to have three or four Parliamentary Secretaries for the departments under his jurisdiction itself.

Informed sources indicated that the Chief Minister was busy throughout yesterday with the exercise of selecting the Ministers, Deputy Speaker, Whips and Parliamentary Secretaries so that he could induct the first phase of Ministers within the next few days. The exercise is continuing today also, and in the process, In all probability, some final decisions are expected to be taken in a day or two. KCR is having discussions with senior leaders of the party, on these issues.

Loyalty to the party, Seniority of the elected Members, their behaviour and attitudes were being considered in the selection of Ministers and to other posts, apart from ensuing representation to different districts, communities and sections. Among those who were elected to the Assembly for the first time, only one or two might get some position, it is said. (Maxim News)