Revanth Reddy moves to drop Konda Surekha from Telangana Cabinet, replaces Chinna Reddy with Gadwal Vijayalakshmi

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday moved to remove Endowments Minister Konda Surekha from the Telangana Council of Ministers and ordered a series of changes to key nominated posts, marking a decisive escalation in the prolonged internal dispute within the ruling Congress.

The Chief Minister’s recommendation to drop Surekha from the Council of Ministers has been sent to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma. The move follows weeks of political friction and a disciplinary process within the Telangana Congress.

At the same time, the government rescinded G. Chinna Reddy’s appointment as Vice Chairman of the Telangana State Planning Board with immediate effect. Gadwal Vijayalakshmi has been appointed to the post in the rank of Cabinet Minister, according to a GO issued by the state government this afternoon.

The reshuffle also moves Vijayalakshmi out of the Telangana State Commission for Women. Her resignation as chairperson has been accepted and Nerella Sharada has been appointed to succeed her.

Former Rajya Sabha member Gundu Sudha Rani has been appointed Chairperson of the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) for a two-year term.

The decisions come after the issue had moved through several stages of internal Congress deliberations. The TPCC Disciplinary Committee had recommended action against both Surekha and Chinna Reddy over their respective controversies, with the recommendations subsequently placed before the AICC.

Weeks of confrontation

The immediate trigger for the Surekha controversy was remarks made by her daughter, Konda Sushmita Patel, at a public meeting in Warangal on August 19. Sushmita criticised Revanth Reddy and made allegations concerning the Chief Minister and his family.

Surekha maintained that her daughter’s statements were independent and that she should not be held responsible for them. She nevertheless came under mounting pressure from sections of the state Congress, with the disciplinary committee eventually recommending her removal from the Cabinet.

Revanth subsequently took the matter to the Congress high command in Delhi. On Tuesday, he met AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and reportedly pressed for stringent action, arguing that public indiscipline by senior leaders was damaging the party and government.

The high command’s decision was initially delayed, with senior leaders consulting across the party leadership. Surekha travelled to Delhi and met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, while making it clear that she would not voluntarily resign from the Cabinet.

The latest government decision indicates that the Chief Minister has now acted on the recommendation to remove her, although the constitutional process relating to her removal requires the Governor’s action.

Chinna Reddy also loses Planning Board post

The action against Chinna Reddy has a separate political background.

The senior Congress leader had faced disciplinary proceedings following remarks concerning Wanaparthy MLA T Megha Reddy. The TPCC disciplinary committee recommended that he be removed as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.

His removal and the simultaneous appointment of Gadwal Vijayalakshmi indicate that the latest changes go beyond the Surekha controversy and amount to a broader restructuring of politically significant nominated positions.

Vijayalakshmi’s move to the Planning Board also triggers a change at the Women’s Commission, with Nerella Sharada being brought in as its new chairperson.

A message on party discipline

The developments represent one of the clearest assertions so far by Revanth Reddy of his authority over the state government and the ruling Congress organisation.

For weeks, the issue had exposed the tension between the Chief Minister’s demand for disciplinary action and the AICC’s caution over its possible political consequences. Reports had pointed to concerns about factional equations and the political impact of acting against a senior BC leader such as Surekha.

Surekha, meanwhile, had remained defiant, arguing that she should not be punished for statements made by her daughter and challenging the leadership to take action if it believed she had violated party discipline.

The government’s latest moves suggest that the prolonged episode has now entered a new phase: from an internal Congress disciplinary dispute to an actual restructuring of the Telangana Cabinet and key government positions.

Whether the move finally settles the dispute—or opens another political front within Telangana Congress—will depend on how Surekha and her supporters respond, and on the next steps taken by the Congress high command.