Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Drops Endowments Minister Konda Surekha From Cabinet
HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday decided to drop endowments minister Konda Surekha from his cabinet, concluding a weeks-long disciplinary dispute within the ruling state Congress. The recommendation to remove Surekha from the Council of Ministers has been formally sent to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma for his approval.
The chief minister's decision followed a recommendation by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) disciplinary committee. The committee had initiated inquiries after remarks made by Surekha's daughter, Konda Sushmitha Patel, against Revanth Reddy and his family triggered widespread friction across the party organisation.
The internal dispute began in August when Sushmitha delivered controversial remarks regarding Revanth Reddy at a public event, accusing him of favouring his family members in business dealings. During the same event, she announced her intention to contest the upcoming election from the Parkal assembly constituency. The statements prompted strong backlash from party leaders, which intensified after Surekha did not publicly distance herself from her daughter's statements.
Surekha maintained that her daughter had voiced personal opinions and insisted that she should not be held accountable for them. She later alleged that a conspiracy was underway by a section of Congress leaders targeting her to force her exit from the Council of Ministers. As the dispute widened, more than 20 Congress MLAs and MLCs, along with several cabinet ministers, formally requested stringent disciplinary action against both Surekha and her daughter.
In response to the mounting pressure, Surekha travelled to Bengaluru to meet Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, where she argued that she had not personally made adverse statements against the party or the chief minister. Kharge, however, stated that public criticism of the chief minister and unilateral declarations regarding assembly candidacies breached party discipline, noting that candidate selections are strictly determined by the party's central leadership.
After refusing to step down and asserting that any action against her should also apply to the chief minister, Surekha met Kharge again in Delhi on Wednesday. High-level deliberations took place involving senior leaders KC Venugopal, Revanth Reddy, and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, after which the TPCC disciplinary committee formally recommended her removal from the cabinet.
Alongside Surekha's removal, the state government rescinded the appointment of senior leader G Chinna Reddy as vice-chairman of the Telangana Planning Board following a disciplinary recommendation regarding his comments against Wanaparthy MLA T Megha Reddy. In the subsequent reshuffle, Revanth Reddy appointed Gadwal Vijayalakshmi as vice-chairperson of the Planning Board, Nerella Sharada as chairperson of the Telangana State Commission for Women, and former Rajya Sabha MP G Sudha Rani as chairperson of the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority.
