Telangana Congress leader Konda Surekha distanced herself from her daughter’s criticism of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and even reached out to the party high command – all in an attempt to save her ministerial berth.
Her efforts, however, turned out to be futile on Thursday after she was dropped from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect – a move she ascribed to “settling a grudge”.
The politician spoke to the media after her ouster from the cabinet was announced. After being dropped from the cabinet, the former state Forest and Endowments Minister returned to her oft-repeated defence that she cannot be punished for her daughter’s actions.
She called her sacking “a conspiratorial action” and argued that many politicians in the past had escaped harsh punishment despite openly criticising Congress bigwigs such as Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Earlier reporting noted: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy sacks forest minister Konda Surekha Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday decided to drop his Cabinet colleague, Konda Surekha from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect, amid a row over the remarks made against him and others by the woman leader’s daughter. “We are not going to leave the Congress party. My journey in the party has been for around 30 years.
My husband was also associated with the Congress for many years,” she said. Earlier reporting noted: A recommendation to this effect has been made to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, a CMO release said.
Earlier reporting noted: Surekha, state Forest and Endowments Minister, has been in the eye of a storm following the critical remarks made by her daughter against the chief minister and other party leaders, drawing sharp responses from the ruling party MLAs and functionaries.
Those who criticised the Congress party and the party leadership are the ones continuing in their positions today. “I have not criticised the party or the chief minister anywhere. Yet, they issued me show-cause notices. Even after I responded to them, they were not satisfied and took conspiratorial actions against me. Leaders like Mallu Ravi, Rosayya, and Jaipal Reddy have instances of severely criticising leaders like Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. It is heartbreaking that they are using my daughter’s words against me to settle a grudge,” she wrote on X. She also claimed she had sent emails to top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi, explaining she didn’t share her daughter’s opinion about the chief minister.
