Cabinet rank to advisers illegal: TS TD

TS TD leader A. Revanth Reddy has moved the Hyderabad High Court challenging the TS government’s conferring Cabinet rank status to its advisers, special representatives and chairmen of various government corporations.

The TD MLA has questioned the conferring of Cabinet rank to G. Vivekananda, R. Vidyasagar Rao, A.K. Goel, advisor, A Ramakrishna, B.V. Appa Rao, K.V. Ramanachary, G.R. Reddy, Devulapally Prabhakar Rao, Pervaram Ramulu, Somarapu Satyanarayana, Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Pidamarthi Ravi, Prasanth Reddy, Koppula Eshwar, K.M. Sahni, Ramachandrudu Tejavath and Dr S. Venugopalachary.

He contended that conferment of Cabinet rank cannot be at the will and wish of administration and such a status would enable chairmen, advisers and special representatives to draw various perquisites from the state exchequer thus resulting in huge loss to it.

Apart from the financial burden to the state, it will result in belittling of very expression since it originally applies only to ministers who are supposed to advise the head of the state i.e., the Governor.

Mr Reddy said Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution has imposed a ceiling on the size of the Cabinet of 15 per cent of the total strength of Members of Legislative Assembly.

He submitted that the state cannot confer Cabinet rank and said that doing so would be without legal sanctity and in violation of the Constitution.