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Hyderabad, Oct 31 (IANS) Senior Congress MLA and former minister P. Sudarshan Reddy was on Friday appointed advisor to the Telangana government with the rank of cabinet minister.
Another Congress MLA K. Prem Sagar Rao has been appointed Chairman of Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation. He will also get cabinet rank status.
These appointments were made around the time former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin was sworn in as minister.
These appointments were seen as a move by the Congress government to placate senior leaders who were keen to get cabinet berths.
Sudarshan Reddy, who served as a minister in united Andhra Pradesh, has been appointed as Advisor to the Government (Implementation of all major welfare and developmental schemes) with the rank and status of Cabinet Minister.
As per the government order, he will review the implementation of all major welfare and developmental schemes with District Collectors/Secretaries of departments and other concerned officials.
The salary, requisites and support staff of the Advisor will be admissible at par with that of a Cabinet Minister. He will be provided residential accommodation similar to that of a Cabinet Minister, apart from the Minister’s chambers in the Secretariat.
He will be a special invitee in all cabinet meetings. A Special Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary/Secretary rank officer will head the Major Welfare and Developmental Planning Unit and provide secretariat support to the Advisor. The Unit will from time to time apprise the Cabinet on the implementation of all major welfare and developmental schemes.
Sudarshan Reddy and Prem Sagar Rao, along with two other MLAs, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and Malareddy Ranga Reddy, were unhappy at being ignored in the last cabinet expansion in June 2025.
The extension on Friday was made only to accommodate Azharuddin, who is not a member of the Assembly or the Council.
In August, the state cabinet decided to nominate Azharuddin as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) under the Governor’s quota.
The cabinet was formed with the swearing-in of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and 11 ministers on December 7, 2023.
After long delays, the cabinet was expanded with the addition of three ministers on 8 June.
With the swearing in of Azharuddin, the number of members in the cabinet has increased to 16.
Two seats are still vacant as the Cabinet can have a maximum of 18 ministers including the Chief Minister.
–IANS
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