Is Dharmana likely to be a sacrificial lamb?

It appears that the Kiran Kumar Reddy government is prepared to sacrifice former Minister, Dharmana Prasada Rao, who has been named as the accused number five in the CBI chargesheet. According to observers, Prasada Rao appears to be another sacrificial lamb on his way to the altar after he got mired in the Vanpic case.

The government's stand appears unclear, but with the APCC chief, Botsa Satyanarayana sending his report to Delhi, more ministers are likely to get hit by CBI cases. Sources say that this is a part of a larger plan to check the burgeoning influence of YSRCP and the groundswell of support it is getting across the state, including the Telangana region. The results of opinion polls and surveys and the slew of scams that have spilled out into public domain have only served to dent the ruling party's image. It feels that one way of wriggling out of the mess is to sacrifice a few ministers, who have now been reduced to pawns in this plot, say political anaysts.

Meanwhile, Prasada Rao has been professing his innocence and several ministers and party men have rallied around him. Some of his cabinet colleagues must be a worried lot with their names likely to get drawn into the cases. Many of his colleagues have already met the Chief Minister and some like Raghuveera Reddy have publicly stated that Prasada Rao committed no wrong and did not take any decision in his individual capacity. He added that Rao was party to what was essentially a cabinet decision. The Chief Minister, Kiran Kumar Reddy has so far remained silent on the subject and is keeping his cards close to his chest. The question that is now being asked is whether Prasada Rao and some of his other colleagues will be put on the chopping block to counter the growing influence of Jaganmohan Reddy and his everwidening support base in the state.