By IANS,
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Minister for Higher Education C. Damodar Rajanarasimha, who belongs to the Telangana region, was Friday appointed deputy chief minister of the state.
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan issued an order appointing him as the deputy chief minister, on the recommendation of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Rajanarasimha, who also holds additional charge of agriculture, was tipped to be the deputy chief minister ever since Kiran Kumar Reddy became the chief minister last November.
The 52-year-old Dalit leader represents Andole assembly constituency in Medak district of Telangana.
The state has got a deputy chief minister after a gap of nearly two decades. Rajanarasimha is the sixth deputy chief minister in the state’s history.
His appointment is being seen as an attempt by the Congress leadership to counter the movement for separate statehood to Telangana and it came at a time when Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other groups have intensified the protest.
This is the latest in a series of appointments made by the Congress party leadership in an attempt to set right things in the key state.
Earlier this week, the leadership appointed cabinet minister Botsa Satyanarayna as the president of the party’s state unit. Last week, Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar was elevated as Speaker.
Born on Dec 5, 1958 in Hyderabad, Rajanarasimha graduated in civil engineering from Osmania University. His father was a five-time legislator from Andole.
Rajanarasimha was first elected to assembly from the same constituency in 1989. He was elected again in 2004 and 2009 and served as minister in Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and K. Rosaiah cabinets.
The appointment of Telangana leader is seen an attempt by Congress party to honour an agreement signed at the time of Andhra Pradesh’s formation in 1956 that Telangana should have a deputy chief minister if the chief minister is from Andhra or Rayalaseema.
K.V. Ranga Reddy became the first deputy chief minister in 1960. This practice was discontinued in 1970s. Telangana leaders say this violation was one of the key reasons for the demand for a separate state.
The last deputy chief minister was Koneru Ranga Rao in early 1990s. Ranga Rao was from Andhra while then chief minister Vijaybhaskar Reddy was from Rayalaseema region.