Bypolls not a vote on Telangana: Kiran Reddy

HYDERABAD: In his first speech of the new year, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday seemed to take an anticipatory bail regarding bypolls while skirting the issue of cabinet expansion and Jagan Mohan Reddy.Speaking to mediapersons here, Kiran Kumar said he would not consider the outcome of the ensuing byelections as a referendum on the policies of his government. In the same breath he added that results of bypolls in Telangana region are also not to be understood as a vote on the separate state issue.The chief minister said that he would approach the electorate both in the coastal Andhra and Telangana regions and showcase what he had done for their benefit and what he intended to do in future. “I will explain to them the development and welfare programmes that my government has taken up and seek their votes,” the chief minister said.But on other issues, he was less than direct. He was as slippery as the proverbial eel when asked about the probable time of his cabinet expansion. “It will be done soon. Even for inclusion of PRP MLAs, PCC president B Satyanarayana and I will discuss it with Chiranjeevi. The choice of which PRP MLA should be in the cabinet would be left to Chiranjeevi,” the chief minister said, but remained vague on the date of expansion.As regards providing a berth to Chiranjeevi in the central cabinet, the chief minister said he cannot comment on things that were not within his purview. The CWC would have to discuss the proposal and then it would be sent to the party high command, he said.He refused to offer any comment on YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s announcement on staying out of the fray in the byelections in Telangana districts. “It is his party’s affair. I do not want to make any comments on it,” he said.