JOIN USNaidu takes reins of residual AP
Nara Chandrababu Naidu took the reins of residual Andhra Pradesh at a colourful public ceremony held at a sprawling ground in Nagarjuna Nagar between Vijayawada and Guntur on Sunday.
At 7:27 pm, Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Naidu and his 19-member team of Cabinet ministers, including two from BJP, as a sea of humanity watched the proceedings with awe. It is the first time that a CM of Andhra Pradesh took oath outside Hyderabad.
The state will continue to be known as Andhra Pradesh but it has to start afresh. Right now, it is not only a state without a capital but also a state which does not have decent camp offices for the chief minister and the police chief.
An uncertain future, an unwelcoming neighbour (Telangana) and a huge deficit budget are some of the innumerable problems staring at Naidu, who has served twice as the chief minister of former Andhra Pradesh. He has served as the chief minister for 8 years and 8 months from 1995 to 2004. He was the state’s youngest Assembly member and youngest minister at 28.
He was voted the “IT Indian of the Millennium” in a poll conducted by India Today group and is the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly. He preferred to be addressed as the “CEO” of Andhra Pradesh and was instrumental in making Hyderabad one of India’s IT hubs.
Naidu, as announced, signed the waiver on farm and DWCRA loans but with a rider that a committee will study and submit a report within 45 days. Rs 1,000 pension for widows and aged persons, Rs 2 per 20 litres mineral water (“NTR Sujala scheme”), banning of liquor shops and increasing retirement age from 58 to 60 years, were the other measures which got his nod.
In all, Naidu’s team has three women ministers and three doctors. K E Krishna Murty, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, N Chinna Rajappa, C Ayyannapatrudu, B Gopalakrishna Reddy, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, P Narayana, Paritala Sunitha, Prattipati Pulla Rao, Kamineni Srinivas (BJP), Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Peetala Sujatha, K Achannaidu, Sidda Raghavarao, Kimidi Mrinalini, Kollu Ravindra, Ravela Kishore Babu and P Manikyala Rao (BJP) form Naidu’s cabinet.