Naidu's bid to put down dissent

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 27. Taking note of the brewing discontent within the party over the reconstitution of his Cabinet, the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, has urged aggrieved leaders not to flout organisational discipline and go to the media to air their views.

Mr. Naidu chose a training camp for partymen at NTR Bhavan here today to react to the criticism about the reshuffle.

Some aspirants who could not make it to the Cabinet or those dropped from it such as Messrs. E. Peddi Reddy, E. Dayakar Rao, K. Harishwar Reddy, N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy, Dadi Veerabhadra Rao etc. publicly ventilated their hurt feelings.

If functionaries strayed from discipline and went to town with their grievances, wittingly or unwittingly, it would adversely affect the image of the party. A wrong message would go to people that power was all what the leaders wanted. ``If we violate discipline, all the pains we have taken to build the party would have been a waste. There will then be no difference between our party and others.''

He renewed his appeal to the leaders not to go to the press but to sort it out with him. If this persisted, `appropriate decision' would be taken.

Under the circumstances, Mr. Naidu felt it necessary to `share the facts with you lest somebody should think I am afraid.' In politics, there were no secrets: `our lives are open books.' He announced the decision four days in advance so as to invite suggestions and meet all the people concerned. He had heard 110 MLAs.

As a Chief Minister, he faced many constraints and weighed several considerations. He could not act unilaterally. The Chief Minister should utilise reconstitution to improve the working of the Cabinet.

As per norms, the ideal size of the Cabinet should be 29 (10 per cent of the strength of the Assembly). He had raised the size to 36 in 1999 and now to 39. It was not possible to accommodate everyone however deserving one might be. He tried to steer clear of prejudices and only wanted to encourage efficiency. There was no other reason or consideration.

But he was pained to see criticism in the media by some party leaders. While some papers reported facts, some others presented `distorted and exaggerated picture.'

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Section  : Southern States
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