CM to Meet Guv Over Graft Charges by Minister

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will meet state Governor ESL Narasimhan tomorrow, amidst speculation that he might axe Minister for Handlooms P Shanker Rao who had levelled graft charges against two of his ministerial colleagues.

Kiran Reddy is expected to meet the Governor immediately upon his return from Tirupati tomorrow, sources in the Chief Minister's Office said.

He is likely to seek the dismissal of Shanker Rao who has left the government embarrassed with his allegations, the the sources said.

A couple of days after his allegations of corruption against two of his cabinet colleagues were suo moto taken cognizance of by the High Court, Shanker Rao today petitioned Narasimhan against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for failing to take any "corrective action".

"I personally begged the Chief Minister to look into allegations of corruption against Ministers for Home, Excise, Revenue, Roads and Buildings, Irrigation, Public Enterprises, but no corrective measures were taken by the Chief Minister," Shanker Rao told the Governor in his memorandum.

The Handlooms Minister met the Governor today and informed him about the allegations against his fellow ministers.

"Various complaints of corruption against bureaucrats, elected public representatives and ministers are pouring in from people of various walks of life. As a member of the Council of Ministers of Kiran Kumar Reddy, I had been bringing the same to the notice of the Chief Minister. The most serious allegations I received in the recent times are about corrupt practices of ministers of Home, Excise, etc.," Shanker Rao said in his memorandum.

In departments like Revenue, Irrigation, R&B, Industries, Panchayat Raj, Excise and Home, "organised gangs of corrupt officers" were always being posted in vital positions irrespective of their standing, background and character, the Handlooms Minister alleged.

He also cited some examples in support of his charges.

"It is must and necessary that the government should act tough in eradicating corruption by taking appropriate action against all the corrupt, however big they may be, even if they are ministers in the present government," he added.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Sabita Reddy, who has been the subject of Shanker Rao's attack, met the Governor in the evening to "clarify" her position.