VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has continued social engineering in his cabinet reshuffle by giving priority to political empowerment of weaker sections, said Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.
Speaking to the media at the YSRC central office on Sunday, Sajjala, who is the party general secretary, said Jagan reiterated his commitment to uplift of weaker sections in the new cabinet as well by allotting 70% of berths to them unlike the previous TDP regime which gave only 48% of minister posts to marginalised sections.
“The YSRC from its inception has been giving priority to BCs, SCs, STs and minorities and the rule of reservations is being implemented in letter and spirit,” he said, and added that Jagan stayed true to the party’s BC Declaration.
Sajjala said Jagan succeeded in convincing the upper caste legislators in the party and getting support to his decision to allocate a lion’s share of cabinet berths to BCs, SCs, STs and minorities. Out of 25 ministers, 14 belong to these communities, while 11 are from upper castes.
Describing the reconstitution of the cabinet as a revolutionary decision, the YSRC leader said TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who claims to have the support of BCs, had never given priority to them, but Jagan showed what BCs means to him practically. In the first cabinet of Jagan, 14 ministerial berths were given to BCs, SCs, STs and minorities and in the rejigged cabinet the number has gone up to 17. Out of them, 11 are BCs and minorities, five are SCs and one ST. The number of BCs and minorities in the cabinet increased from eight to 11, registering an increase in the share from 56 to 70%, he explained. “This is a new trend like never before, creating a new history,” he asserted.
Criticising the TDP chief Naidu for his empty promises, Sajjala said out of the 19-member cabinet, which was in office for two years in 2014, 11 belonged to upper caste and eight to other communities. The cabinet rejig was done in 2017 to accommodate his son Lokesh.
In the reshuffle, five ministers were removed and 11 new faces were inducted into the cabinet. Out of the reconstituted 25 member cabinet, 15 belonged to upper castes and 10 other communities. “Interestingly, there was no representation for STs and minorities in Naidu’s cabinet till 2018. At the fag end of the previous regime, ST and minorities were given ministerial berths following resignation of two BJP ministers,” he elaborated.
Sajjala asserted that there is no comparison between Naidu and Jagan as the numbers speak for themselves. “Even the number of women in the cabinet has increased from three to four now. The social equation adopted in the form of five deputy chief ministers, will continue and key portfolios will be allotted to SCs, STs, BCs and minorities,” he said.
The YSRC leader said in the 12-year journey of the party, one can clearly see that Jagan has never aspired for power, but sought power to do social justice and political equality. He maintained that be it minister or party leader, their objective is to serve the people and both have equal responsibilities. He averred that the entire exercise was done in an unbiased manner giving no scope for any favouritism.