CM Revanth Rules Out Portfolio Reshuffle For His Existing Ministers
Hyderabad:Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday night allocated portfolios to the three ministers sworn in on Sunday, shortly after returning from a three-day visit to Delhi. Until now, the Chief Minister had been handling these departments himself. No changes were made to the portfolios of existing ministers, and the new appointees are expected to assume charge on Thursday.
Gaddam Vivek Venkatswamy will oversee labour, employment, training and factories and mines and geology. Adluri Laxman Kumar has been given Scheduled Castes development, tribal welfare, minorities welfare, and the department for empowerment of persons with disabilities, senior citizens and transgender persons. Vakiti Srihari will handle animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries and sports and youth services.
All three ministers are first-time MLAs: Vivek hails from the SC-Mala community, Laxman from the SC-Madiga community, and Srihari from the BC-Mudiraj community.
Vivek represents Chennur in the undivided Adilabad district, home to the Singareni coal belt, where thousands of miners are employed. His late father, Gaddam Venkataswamy (“Kaka”), served as Union labour minister in P.V. Narasimha Rao's Cabinet (1995-96). Vivek himself was a Lok Sabha MP from 2009 to 2014, his brother Gaddam Vinod is the MLA for Bellampalli, and his son Gaddam Vamsi Krishna is the Lok Sabha MP from Peddapalli.
Speaking informally with reporters in Delhi earlier on Wednesday, Revanth Reddy denied talk of a broader cabinet reshuffle. “There was no discussion in Delhi about reallocating portfolios,” he said. “The unassigned departments were simply awaiting my return for distribution to the new ministers.” He added that any future changes would be made collectively: "Without the Deputy Chief Minister, the TPCC president, and the AICC Telangana in-charge, no decision on reshuffling can be taken.”
The Telangana Cabinet now has 15 of its 18 sanctioned positions filled, leaving three seats vacant.
Revanth Reddy explained that his Delhi trip focused on briefing the Congress leadership, and the Karnataka government, on Telangana's recently completed caste census and Scheduled Caste categorisation. "I spent nearly two and a half hours detailing our methodology to the Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister," he said, expressing hope that Telangana's model could serve as a template for other states.
