The TDP on Wednesday demanded the Andhra Pradesh Governor to dismiss state minister J Geeta Reddy from the cabinet in the wake of CBI chargesheeting her in the Jaganmohan Reddy illegal assets case. The CBI yesterday named Geeta Reddy who held the portfolio of major industries minister in the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy cabinet as Accused Number 9 in a case related to the Lepakshi Knowledge Hub,as part of an alleged quid pro quo deal with Jagan. A delegation of TDP MLCs and MLAs,led by deputy leader Motkupalli Narasimhulu,met Governor E S L Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan this evening and submitted a memorandum requesting Geeta Reddy's dismissal from the AP cabinet. "We request you to direct Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to remove Geeta Reddy from the cabinet. If the Chief Minister doesn't abide by your direction,we request you to dismiss her from the cabinet," the TDP said. The TDP delegation recalled its earlier representation submitted to the Governor in March seeking dismissal of all "tainted ministers" connected with the Jagan case. "We regret to inform that no steps were taken in this regard. This is not in the best interests of good governance and would only embolden the administrative machinery to get involved in criminal cases affecting the larger interest of the public," the TDP delegation said. Geeta,the state major industries minister,is the fourth minister of in the Congress-led Kiran Kumar Reddy government to be chargesheeted by the CBI in connection with the Jagans illegal assets case. One Mopidevi Venkata Ramana put in his papers after the CBI arrested him,while two others - Dharmana Prasada Rao and P Sabita Indra Reddy - were forced to resign after a Congress high command directive,though the AP Chief Minister refused to act against them all along. Geeta Reddy met AP Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy late last night,but nothing has been spoken about the resignation or her possible removal from the cabinet. However,Congress sources said that going by the high command's stand against ministers facing criminal charges,Geeta too would have to step down on her own or face dismissal.
