Sabitha, Dharmana asked to resign?

Hyderabad, May 19: After getting nod from the Congress High Command during his four-day visit to the national capital, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar has reportedly asked two ministers – P Sabitha Indira Reddy and B Dharmana Prasad Rao to resign from the cabinet.

According to sources, the Chief Minister called Dharmana Prasada Rao asking him to reach Hyderabad from Srikakulam immediately. A similar message seeking resignation was reportedly conveyed to Sabitha Indira Reddy. Both the ministers are likely to handover their resignations to the Chief Minister either later Sunday or Monday morning.

It may be mentioned that both Sabitha and Dharmana have been named as accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Disproportionate Assets case of YSR Congress party president and Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy. Although Dharmana submitted his resignation after he was named as an accused in August last year, his resignation was rejected and the cabinet even refused to allow the CBI to prosecute him. Similarly, Sabitha’s offer to resign from the cabinet was turned down by the Chief Minister.

However, the pressure from both within and outside the Congress party demanding dismissal of tainted ministers has put the ruling party in a fix. Two central ministers – Ashwini Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal were forced to resign from the union cabinet following allegations of corruption. Therefore, in order to counter the allegations of adopting dual standards at the Centre and State levels, the Congress High Command has reportedly asked Kiran Kumar Reddy to seek the resignations of Sabitha and Dharmana.

- INN