Telangana Minister Seethakka skips Cabinet meet; Dubai visit sparks buzz

Minister Seethakka skipped a crucial Cabinet meeting expected to discuss Telangana’s pending local body elections. Her concurrent presence at an awards event in Dubai, confirmed via social media, has sparked speculation about internal discord within the Congress leadership

Hyderabad: The absence of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister D Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka, from Monday’s Cabinet meeting, expected to discuss the long-overdue local body elections under her portfolio, has triggered speculation about internal rifts at the top level of the Congress party.

Adding to the intrigue are conflicting reports about her whereabouts. While official sources remained evasive about her presence in Telangana, there are strong indications that the Minister was in Dubai on a private visit even as the Cabinet met at the Secretariat.

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Photographs posted on Instagram and Facebook confirmed her presence in Dubai on Sunday. In one image, Seethakka was seen presenting the ‘Woman Icon of the Year’ award to entrepreneur Devu Vimal Ravindranath, Executive Director and CFO of Al Zaabi Group, at the Master Vision International Excellence Awards and Business Conclave 2025 held on Sunday (June 22) at a five-star hotel in Deira.

It remains unclear whether the Minister returned to Hyderabad on Monday. Her staff, while confirming she did not attend the Cabinet meeting, were vague on whether she was in the city and why she skipped the crucial meeting.

Among other key issues, the Cabinet was expected to deliberate on the conduct of the local body elections, which have been pending since February. Interestingly, Seethakka had earlier announced that the notification for the polls would be issued by the end of this month. However, she later retracted her statement, clarifying that she had only suggested that elections could be held soon. This was reportedly after murmurs within the party, especially from the TPCC leadership, questioning how she could make such a declaration.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had also made a similar announcement regarding the poll notification, prompting a public reprimand from TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud. He instructed Ministers and elected representatives to refrain from making administrative or government-related announcements.

“The issue of conducting local body elections is sub judice. Unless there are clear court orders, Ministers should not make any such announcements,” Goud stated.

The Congress had earlier promised 42 percent reservations for Backward Classes in local body elections. However, implementation of such reservations lies outside the State government’s purview and would require a parliamentary decision by the Central government. This legal and procedural constraint has contributed to the delay in conducting the elections. Nonetheless, mounting pressure from various quarters and the loss of central funds for gram panchayats has prompted the government to consider holding the elections soon.

In this context, Seethakka’s absence from the Cabinet meeting has fuelled speculation about internal discord and lack of coordination within the Congress leadership.