Dalit CM For Telangana: Jairam Ramesh

Triggering a fresh round of in-fighting amongst the Congress members, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, on Monday, announced that his party will make a Dalit the Chief Minister of Telangana.

While Jairam's statement is likely to make the Dalit leaders of Congress happy, it might upset the leaders of other castes, especially those from the backward classes and those from the upper castes.

Although Jairam did not specify whether he was making the statement on behalf of the Congress High Command or was expressing his individual views, but by promising a Dalit CM he has clearly tried to appease the Dalits who have a strong presence in Telangana.

Presently, Damodar Rajanarasimha and Dr J Geetha Reddy are among the top contenders for the post of the CM of Telangana. The other candidates who are in the race for the Chief Minister's post include K Jana Reddy and D Srinivas.

Originally, the promise of a Dalit CM for Telangana was mooted by TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao. However, the TRS is yet to take an official stand on its Chief Ministerial candidate for the next elections.

Meanwhile, speaking to media personnel in Karimnagar, Jairam said that AICC president Sonia Gandhi was not Telangana "Maata" (mother) but Telangana "Nirmata" (creator).

He also promised that the Congress party will give tickets to TJAC leaders if they wish to contest the next elections.

Jairam also criticised former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for launching a new party. Describing him as an irresponsible Chief Minister, he said that people in Andhra Pradesh have faced many problems because of him. (INN)