Following the flak he faced over handling of swine flu scare in the state, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on Sunday sacked Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr T Rajaiah and inducted Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) MP from Warangal, Kadiam Srihari, into the Cabinet. Srihari will resign as MP shortly, and may be allotted the Health and Medical Education portfolio which was held by Rajaiah. To quell any rebellion from the Madiga community (SC) to which Dr Rajaiah belongs, KCR chose Kadiam Srihari who also belongs to the same community and hails from Warangal as Rajaiah.

With at least 11 swine flu deaths and more than 150 persons testing positive for the H1N1 virus, Rao tried to defend his deputy, but in the process came under severe criticism for not taking the spread of the deadly virus seriously. “When the CM took stock of the situation and found that the Health Department and the Health Minister were absolutely clueless about how to handle swine flu cases, he had to call central teams for help,’’ a minister who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Kadiam Srihari said.

A peeved Rajaiah gave vent to his feelings at his residence calling the CM’s move unfair. “I worked hard to put medical and healthcare services on the right track in Telangana. I reacted swiftly to the increasing cases of swine flu with whatever I had at my disposal…and today I have been relieved off my portfolio for no fault of mine,’’ he said.

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