Roads & Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao will not attend his official duties till a decision is taken by Governor E.S. L. Narasimhan on his resignation.
The Minister reportedly reiterated this stand before Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy when he met the latter at the Secretariat on Wednesday. Accordingly, Mr Prasada Rao will continue to keep himself off the Secretariat, his aides told this correspondent later. Sources said he was anxiously awaiting a decision by the Governor. As the file relating to the resolution through which the Cabinet disapproved the CBI plea to permit prosecution of the Minister was with the Raj Bhavan, Mr Prasada Rao would not indulge in any statement or action that would influence the Governor in any manner.
The Minister was closeted with the Chief Minister for over an hour in the latter’s chamber but did not want to divulge the details of the discussions to reporters. He merely said “the discussions were purely on some local issues pertaining to Srikakulam district.”