Andhra: Botcha begins his jockeying

HYDERABAD: The emergence of two power centres in the state government became more apparent Thursday with PCC chief-designate Botcha Satyanarayana upstaging chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and making pronouncements on the impending Cabinet reshuffle.Speaking informally to reporters in his chambers at the Secretariat, Satyanarayana, who is also the transport minister, said the reshuffle is likely to happen by the end of this month and would involve no sackings but only a round of musical chairs to accommodate MLAs of the Praja Rajyam, which is in the throes of a merger with the Congress.This pronouncement came while the chief minister was away in north Andhra attending Rythu Saddassu programmes. Satyanarayana hinted that none of the ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet would be dropped to accommodate the PRP MLAs in the Cabinet. But there would be a change in the portfolios of two or three ministers.Replying to a query on whether he himself would continue in both his posts -- minister and PCC president -- Satyanarayana said he would abide by the decision of party high command.That Satyanarayana is taking charge of the PCC in an assertive mood also became clear from the way he made his mind known to intelligence chief Mahender Reddy about being informed of a Maoist threat to ministers by fax rather than an interpersonal interview.The police establishment is said to have received inputs five days ago suggesting a heightened threat to 20 ministers including Satyanarayana. This was communicated to the ministers in a peremptory fashion by way of a fax.Furious that a threat of this nature was communicated in a routine manner, Satyanarayana is understood to have pulled up the intelligence chief. "Intelligence officials should have called us and informed. What is this business of sending a fax like a routine affair,’’ he is reported to have told Mahender Reddy.