Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Reddy has summoned two of his ministers, charged with corruption, who have not yet quit despite pressure from the Congress' central leadership. Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy and Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao have been named in chargesheets issued by the CBI in the Jaganmohan Reddy disproportionate assets case.
The Chief Minister, who called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders on Saturday, was told to drop the two ministers in view of the mounting demand from both the Opposition and a section of leaders within the ruling party.
Earlier today, there was speculation that they may have handed in their resignations last night as they were seen visiting the Chief Minister's residence. But there's no official word confirming their resignations.
Both the ministers, who had served in the Cabinet of Jaganmohan Reddy's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy (2004-09), have been accused of showing undue favours to companies which invested in Jaganmohan Reddy's business.
The Congress government had been defending the ministers, saying they only implemented the decisions taken by the Cabinet and were not the beneficiaries of the controversial orders like allotment of lands, grant of licenses and leases to companies.
The demand for dropping the tainted ministers gathered momentum after two central ministers, Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal, smeared by scandal, resigned recently.