The ten-member committee of Ministers constituted by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to study the reasons for the party’s debacle in the recent by-elections has ruled out the possibility of leadership change in the government or in the Congress.
“The present leadership will lead us in the 2014 general elections and there is no need for a change,” Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy told reporters after the committee held its third meeting at his residence here on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Dharmana Prasada Rao, the convenor, and all others except Kanna Lakshminarayana and D.K. Aruna.
The thrust of the meeting was on measures to rectify lapses in implementation of welfare programmes before planning and launching new ones. People’s perception of the programmes should be taken into account and remedial measures implemented, they felt.
ADVERTISEMENT
The committee is understood to have discussed the question of holding elections to the local bodies at the earliest and the courts immediately to pre-empt litigation later. The Ministers felt that the Backward Classes census would be ready only in 2013 and the government should not wait till then to hold the elections.
Growing resentment among Congress leaders over the delay in filling posts in various Government-owned corporations also figured at the meeting. The Ministers wanted these posts to be filled immediately and the party’s State, district and mandal committees constituted as early as possible. Leaders felt that any further delay in completing this exercise would send wrong signals to the party cadre and demoralise them.
Housing Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy was invited for the meeting when it discussed the status of housing schemes in the State. It was suggested that beneficiaries of these scheme should reside in the designated houses for a minimum period of 20 years before they were given ownership rights.
ADVERTISEMENT
The committee decided to invite Ministers holding various welfare portfolios for the next meeting to review the status of welfare schemes before the committee submitted its interim report.