Vivek, Adluri Lakshman and Vakiti Srihari to Take Oath as Ministers
The announcement has come amid high anticipation around the cabinet reshuffle aimed at strengthening governance and ensuring wider regional and community representation in the government.
Hyderabad: In tune with the Congress’s policy of prioritising social justice, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in his first Cabinet expansion, inducted a minister each from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes communities here on Sunday. The Cabinet now has 15 minister, including the Chief Minister, leaving three berths vacant.
The new entrants who were administered the oath of office and secrecy at by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan were Dr Gaddam Vivek Ventakswamy, Adluri Lakshman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari.
Later in the day, Ramchandra Naik, MLA from Dornakal in Mahbubabad district, was made Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. His appointment provides representation to the Scheduled Tribe (Lambada) community, taking further the Congress policy of ensuring social justice.
Dr Vivek, legislator from Chennur, belongs to the SC (Mala) community and took his oath in English. Lakshman Kumar, who represents Dharmapuri in Jagtial district, belongs to the SC (Madiga) community. Srihari, MLA from Makthal in Narayanpet district, an agriculturist, belongs to the Backward Classes Mudiraj community. Both of them took their oath in Telugu, in the presence of Revanth Reddy, other Cabinet ministers, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jitender, MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and senior Congress leaders.
Vivek is the son of former Union minister the late G. Venkatswamy ‘Kaka’, seven-time MP from Peddapalli. Dr Vivek’s son Gaddam Vamsi is the incumbent MP from Peddapalli. The new minister’s brother G. Vinod is a Congress MLA. Lakshman was a government whip. Srihari is a first-time legislator.
In a social media post on `X’, Revanth Reddy congratulated the three MLAs on getting berths in his Cabinet. He also congratulated Ramchandra Naik on his appointment as Deputy Speaker.
Revanth Reddy formed government on December 7, 2023 and took oath along with 11 ministers. The long-delayed Cabinet expansion took place after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) cleared the names of three ministers. The party leadership has left three vacancies open in the Cabinet, keeping its options open.
