HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday decided to drop endowments minister Konda Surekha from his cabinet, bringing an end to a weeks-long disciplinary row that exposed growing tensions within the state Congress.The recommendation to remove Surekha from the Council of Ministers has been sent to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma for approval.The action followed a recommendation by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) disciplinary committee, which took serious note of the controversy triggered by remarks made by Surekha’s daughter, Konda Sushmitha Patel, against Revanth Reddy and his family.Here is how the controversy unfolded:The row began in August when Sushmitha made controversial remarks against chief minister Revanth Reddy at a public event. She also reportedly accused him of favouring his family in business dealings and announced that she would contest from the Parkal assembly constituency.Her comments triggered a major backlash within the Telangana Congress, with several party leaders demanding action against both Sushmitha and Surekha. The pressure intensified after Surekha did not publicly distance herself from her daughter’s remarks.Surekha, however, maintained that her daughter’s views were personal and argued that she should not be held responsible for them. She later claimed that a section of Congress leaders was targeting her and alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the demand for her removal from the cabinet.As pressure mounted, more than 20 Congress MLAs and MLCs, along with some ministers, reportedly sought stringent action against Surekha and her daughter.Surekha subsequently rushed to Bengaluru to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. During the meeting, she reportedly maintained that she had not personally made any adverse remarks against Revanth or the party and complained that she was being unfairly targeted.Sources said Kharge made it clear that public criticism of the chief minister and unilateral claims about contesting from a particular constituency were against party discipline. He reportedly pointed out that decisions on election candidates were taken by the party’s central leadership.The controversy continued to escalate after Surekha refused to step down despite mounting pressure. She challenged the party leadership to take action against her and reportedly argued that if disciplinary action was taken against her, similar action should also be considered against Revanth Reddy.She met Kharge again in Delhi on Wednesday as the Congress high command deliberated on her future. Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders, including KC Venugopal, Revanth Reddy, deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka and other state leaders, discussed the disciplinary issue.The TPCC disciplinary committee eventually recommended Surekha’s removal from the cabinet over the controversy.On Thursday, Revanth acted on the recommendation and decided to drop her from the Council of Ministers.The government also rescinded the appointment of senior Congress leader G Chinna Reddy as vice-chairman of the Telangana Planning Board. The TPCC disciplinary committee had recommended action against him over remarks directed at Wanaparthy MLA T Megha Reddy.As part of the reshuffle in key positions, Revanth decided to appoint Gadwal Vijayalakshmi as vice-chairperson of the Telangana Planning Board, Nerella Sharada as chairperson of the Telangana State Commission for Women and former Rajya Sabha MP G Sudha Rani as chairperson of the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority.
