Karimnagar observes bandh over change in Sridhar Babu’s portfolio

Karimnagar, Jan 1 : Normal life in entire Karimnagar district came to a standstill on Wednesday following a bandh call in protest against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s decision to take away the Legislative Affairs portfolio from D Sridhar Babu.

In response to the bandh call given by district unit of Congress party, the shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. The buses of state-owned Road Transport Corporation too went off the roads in the district. The Congress workers took to streets raising slogans against the chief minister, burning his effigies and tyres.

The Telangana leaders, across party lines, have condemned the Chief Minister’s move and dubbed it as another attempt to stall the formation of Telangana state.

In a development late Tuesday, the Chief Minister stripped Sridhar Babu of Legislative Affairs portfolio and allotted it to Primary Education Minister S. Sailajanth, who is also the convener of Seemandhra Legislators Forum.

The move came three days before the commencement of Assembly session wherein the State Reorganisation Bill would be debated. INN