Kadiyam’s review meeting with Endowments officials leaves Konda Surekha fuming
Endowments Minister Konda Surekha has sought disciplinary action against Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari after he held a review meeting with Endowments Department officials without informing her, triggering fresh political tensions within the Telangana Congress over administrative protocol and internal differences
Hyderabad: Days after being sidelined in the constitution of the Yadagirigutta Devasthanam Trust Board, Endowments Minister Konda Surekha has found herself at the centre of yet another embarrassment after Station Ghanpur MLA Kadiyam Srihari held a review meeting with Endowments Department officials without her knowledge.
The episode triggered a political debate, with questions being raised over whether the Minister is being deliberately sidelined by the government and senior Congress leaders. Piqued over the Station Ghanpur MLA’s move to hold the review meeting with officials, Konda Surekha dashed off a missive to the Chief Minister expressing her displeasure over the development. She sought disciplinary action against Kadiyam Srihari, terming the meeting a deliberate attempt to belittle her.
Coming after the Yadagirigutta Trust Board was constituted without her concurrence, the latest review meeting aggravated tensions, highlighting the internecine quarrels among the top echelons of the ruling party. The officials’ review meeting was held at the Endowments Commissioner’s Office in Hyderabad on Monday. Interestingly, Endowments Minister Konda Surekha reportedly came to know about it only on Tuesday.
Sources said Kadiyam discussed issues relating to temples in his Station Ghanpur constituency and instructed officials to furnish a copy of the Warangal Master Plan.
Konda Surekha strongly objected to the meeting, questioning how an MLA could conduct a review meeting at the Commissioner’s Office without informing the Minister in charge of the department. She has sought an explanation from Endowments Department officials.
“This is alarming and disturbing. How can an MLA bypass the Minister and issue directions to officials on matters relating to Endowments lands and other departmental issues?” she asked in her letter. She further stated that such actions were setting an unhealthy administrative precedent and described the episode as a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Minister overseeing the department.
The latest controversy comes against the backdrop of an ongoing rift between Konda Surekha and Congress legislators from the erstwhile Warangal district. The MLAs had earlier complained to the TPCC leadership over the Minister’s alleged interference in their constituencies and later took the issue to AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan.
In her letter to the Chief Minister, Konda Surekha also alleged that Kadiyam Srihari had instigated Congress MLAs against her family and was attempting to tarnish her reputation. She demanded that the party’s Disciplinary Committee inquire into the matter and take appropriate action against those responsible.
