Published Aug 21, 2026 | 4:26 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 21, 2026 | 4:33 PM
Konda Sushmita, daughter of Surekha, made a series of allegations against the Chief Minister recently.
Telangana Minister for Forests and Endowments Konda Surekha is being sacked from the Revanth Reddy cabinet. Also being removed is State Planning Commission Vice-Chairman G Chinna Reddy.
The action against both is a fallout of the continuing criticism of their own government.
On Friday, a group of MLAs considered loyal to Revanth Reddy held a meeting and demanded that action should be taken against Surekha.
The Congress central leadership, highly placed sources told South First, decided to crack the whip and conveyed this to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy as well.
The Chief Minister, who is currently on a tour in the UK, is returning to Hyderabad on August 23 and is likely to send a recommendation to the Governor soon after about the removal of Surekha from the cabinet. Simultaneously, orders removing Chinna Reddy as head of the Planning Board are expected to be issued.
The Congress high command is deeply worried about its own leaders pulling down the image of the party and government in the eyes of people and felt that the situation could deteriorate further unless it took firm action to stem the rot.
A few days ago, Konda Susmita, daughter of Surekha, made a series of allegations against the Chief Minister. Branding him as arrogant and accusing him of converting Telangana Congress into the “Telugu Desam Congress”, she warned that she would expose many scandals involving Revanth Reddy’s family, including allotment of land to his brother.
This is the latest. Back in October 2025, Susmita kicked up a row when police visited Surekha’s residence in connection with an extortion case against the minister’s then-aide. She had spoken of contracts and accused Revanth Reddy and a couple of other ministers of interfering in portfolios held by her mother.
However, party leaders had decided against taking any action then, as Surekha belongs to the Backward Classes. Surekha’s daughter crossing the line yet again has now raised the red flag. Recently, police even booked a case against this former aide of the minister in a major case of extortion.
Interestingly, Surekha did not show any remorse for the utterances of her daughter. Responding to a show cause notice issued by the Telangana Congress Committee, she argued that she could not be held responsible for the “personal views” of another individual (her daughter). She demanded that the show cause notice be withdrawn.
Around the same time as Sushmita’s episode, senior Congress leader Chinna Reddy threatened to revolt against the party leadership if they did not mend their ways. He accused Revanth Reddy of not giving him a ticket in the 2023 elections because someone else (the sitting Congress MLA from Wanaparthy) paid money to Revanth.
The two episodes, as well as many other issues that keep cropping up now and then, have forced the party leadership to spend more time managing internal tensions rather than showcasing the work being done by the government in the three years since it has come to power.
Internal strains are now out in the open. The differences between PCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud and the Chief Minister are public knowledge. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues are not on the same page on many issues, often providing a handle to the Opposition to put the government on the mat.
(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
