HYDERABAD: Alarm bells are ringing for some Cabinet ministers as the CBI is likely to arrest more of them. Both chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana are said to have hinted at such a possibility.Botcha, who held a meeting with party leaders at Gandhi Bhavan on Thursday, is believed to have given enough indications regarding the possible arrest of some other ministers.Against the backdrop of Mopidevi’s arrest, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday evening held a Cabinet meeting at his camp office with available ministers. Apart from ministers P Sabita Indra Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and J Geeta Reddy, who are on the CBI scanner in connection with Jagan’s illegal assets case, deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and ministers Botcha Satyanarayana, Uttamkumar Reddy, D Nagender, Sunita Lakshma Reddy, K Pardhasarathi, D Sridhar Babu, V Vasant Kumar and Sudershan Reddy took part in the meeting. Sources said Kiran Reddy too hinted at possible arrest of one or two ministers in the coming days. However, he is said to have assured those ministers on the CBI radar of all cooperation from the government.Sabita Indra Reddy, Geeta Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah expressed their displeasure over Mopidevi’s arrest. Arresting ministers will damage the party, especially when bypolls are round the corner, they reportedly told the chief minister. Kiran Reddy held parleys with them after the Cabinet meeting for another one hour and tried to pacify their feelings.The CBI has five ministers under its scanner. CBI sleuths had already questioned roads and buildings minister Dharmana Prasada Rao and home minister Sabita Indra Reddy and served notices on industries minister J Geeta Reddy and information technology minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah.After YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s interrogation on Friday and his appearance in the CBI court on May 28, the CBI is expected to move with much more speed looking for evidence that the GOs issued by the ministers favouring some companies had benefited Jagan Mohan Reddy in the form of quid pro quo investments into his firms.It may be recalled that Sabita Indra Reddy, who was mines and geology minister then, was recently asked to explain by the CBI the motive behind issue of permissions and licences to some cement companies which invested in Jagan firms. Dharmana Prasada Rao, who was revenue minister during YSR’s regime, was asked in April to explain the GOs allocating land for the Vanpic project and also for Penna Cement company in Anantapur.“I gave CBI officials whatever information I had and why the GOs were issued,” Dharmana said. In March, the Supreme Court served notices on six ministers, asking them to explain the reasons for the issue of 26 GOs during YSR’s regime which had become controversial.Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the next minister to be arrested will be from an upper caste since Mopidevi belongs to a backward community.
Comments
0 comment