Why Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao fired his health minister

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to drop Health Minister Eatala Rajender from his cabinet came at a time when the state was breaking previous records in daily new Covid-19 cases, registering upwards of 8,000 cases. While ambulances with gasping patients hurried towards hospitals, the frightened public queued up at the inoculation centres where vaccines are in short supply.

The expulsion might seem to be a result of the health minister’s mismanagement of the Covid-19 situation in the state. Except that it had nothing to do with it.

Eatala was divested of his health and family welfare portfolio on May 1 and dropped from the cabinet of KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, on May 2 following charges of land-grabbing by the minister and his associates.

The two decisions were taken within 48 hours of the chief minister ordering two probes — one by the Medak district administration and the other by vigilance officials — to find out the truth in the allegations of land encroachments at Achampet in Masaipet mandal of Medak district.

The investigation is based on the complaints of a few farmers from the weaker sections in Masaipet that the minister’s men had, over the past few months, illegally captured their government-assigned lands. The land is said to have been used to establish a poultry industry – Jamuna Hatcheries, named after the minister’s wife.

The complaint said that about 100 acres belonging to the poor SC, ST and backward caste farmers were grabbed and that sheds were built for setting up Jamuna Hatcheries without any permissions.

A swift probe by the Medak collector has reported that 66 acres of government-assigned lands were encroached upon.

The visible haste with which the probe was carried and a 42-page report submitted within 24 hours of the inquiry order has even surprised the Telangana High Court, which heard the Eatala family’s petition challenging the land inspections without serving notices. The court wondered if the collector surveyed the lands, sitting in his car and if the government had extended a similar quick response to other such complaints.

In any case, the minister’s banishment based on land-grabbing charges corroborates with the various allegations of rampant land-grabbing and other forms of corruption by ruling party leaders. Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay and Congress MP Revanth Reddy have demanded that KCR take action against other TRS ministers and legislators facing similar accusations.

However, analysts say that Eatala’s fate did not have much to do with the land-grabbing allegations and point at the soured relations between the CM and the former minister.

Responding to the developments, Eatala himself said that the allegations and actions are part of a well-planned conspiracy against him.

“This is preconceived action, rather than one based on a complaint or proper investigation. I am a man of self-respect and the public is enraged over my character assassination like this. A price has to be paid in the future...” Eatala said.

A leader from the backward and numerically significant Mudiraj community, Eatala in his youth had represented leftist ideology. Almost since the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s inauguration in 2001, Eatala has been with KCR, becoming his trusted lieutenant.

But differences between them were evident since the last few years, and there were doubts about Eatala’s inclusion in KCR’s second-term cabinet after the December 2018 elections. Though Eatala was eventually allotted a berth, he was allocated health instead of the finance portfolio he had held before, which was seen as a demotion.

Eatala’s earlier reported remarks that “no one owns the TRS party” and that “the minister post was not any alms”, had created a furore in the party, where no one comments on the leadership.

Now, by dropping Eatala, analysts say KCR has finally decided to completely sideline him.

“Just that I could not adjust with your highhandedness, you are using the system to target me. From brother, I have become a bogey for you,” said Eatala in remarks aimed at KCR, announcing that he would decide on his course of action after deliberations in his Huzurabad assembly constituency. Eatala also denied charges that he was involved in anti-party activities or was mulling forming a new party. Eatala is now gathering support, meeting with Congress and BJP leaders and, notably, former TRS legislators such as Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who had parted ways with KCR.

Though no TRS leader has come out in his support till now, political observers say that Eatala’s ouster substantiates talk of a strife brewing in the TRS and could encourage a few more ministers and leaders to exit “the KCR family-ruled party” sooner or later.

“I might be alone today, but Telangana people will stand with me,” Eatala said while expressing his readiness to resign as TRS MLA, adding further that “no minister or legislator feels respected in the party.”

The TRS leadership is watchful of Eatala’s moves and has reportedly deployed leaders to ensure that party cadres are not influenced by him, especially in Huzurabad, where by-polls look imminent.

Interestingly, Eatala is the second health minister in Telangana to be shunted out by KCR. Dr T Rajaiah, who was the deputy chief minister with health portfolio in the first TRS term, was sacked in January 2015 following adverse reports about his functioning, allegations of corruption and inept handling of the swine flu situation in the state that had then claimed 22 lives.

Dr Laxma Reddy, who was given health after Rajaiah’s exit, was denied a ministerial berth in KCR’s second term.

Political observers and opposition parties are presenting the Eatala episode “as yet another example of mistreatment of colleagues who fall out of favour with KCR.”

Meanwhile, KCR has kept the ‘jinxed’ health portfolio with himself, delegating the daily monitoring of the Covid-19 situation to top officials.