Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was swift to replace dismissed Deputy Chief Minister, Dr T. Rajaiah with Kadiam Srihari. Mr Srihari announced that he would resign his LS membership from Warangal after being elected as MLC. He added that he would work like a soldier to achieve the CM’s objective to make Telangana a golden state. Mr Srihari had served as minister in the NTR and Naidu cabinets. He held portfolios like marketing, higher education and major irrigation.

Before recommending Dr Rajaiah’s dismissal to the Governor, Mr Rao held a closed door meeting of senior party leaders and ministers and discussed the move.

He briefed them about the necessity to sack Dr Rajaiah as the latter had taken decisions without keeping him informed, including appointment of the registrar for the new Medical and Health University. Mr Rao also informed them about Intelligence reports that he had received about large scale irregularities in the appointment of outsourced personnel in the medical and health ministry in which lakhs changed hands.