Senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi legislator, Medak MLA Padma Devender Reddy is exactly in the same position now as her boss K Chandrasekhara Rao was in the year 1999.
KCR, who was then a TDP MLA from Siddipet, was strongly aspiring for the Cabinet post, but then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu denied him the same.
Instead, KCR was offered Deputy Speaker post in 2000 and he had to reluctantly accept the same. That was the turning point in State history, as a disgruntled KCR came out of the TDP finally and launched the TRS to take up the Telangana movement in a big way.
Now, Padma Devender Reddy is facing a similar situation. She has been strongly aspiring for the Cabinet berth with the support of her friend and now minister T Harish Rao. But KCR does not want to take her in the Cabinet as he does not want Harish group to grow stronger. Instead, he has offered her Dy Speaker post. On Tuesday, he finalized her name for the post, notification for which was issued in the afternoon.
When asked, Padma Devendar declined to react on the name doing rounds for the top post. She maintained that it is too early to talk on the issue. Nothing has been confirmed yet, she told media persons in the Assembly lobbies.
However, she might not have the guts to revolt against KCR, as the latter did against Naidu in 2001, unless Harish Rao stages a coup!
