Though it is more than a year since megastar K Chiranjeevi merged his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress and got a Rajya Sabha seat for himself, he and his group leaders continue to maintain the opposition stand within the ruling Congress.

Particularly, endowments minister C Ramachandraiah, a close associate of Chiranjeevi, has turned out to be a thorn in the flesh of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy. He does not hesitate to attack the Kiran government on key policy issues and at the same time, makes controversial statements on change of chief minister in the state.

On Saturday, Ramachandraiah once again pushed Kiran Kumar Reddy in an embarrassing situation by demanding that the state government should bear the additional burden on the consumer on account of lifting of subsidy on LPG beyond the limit of six cylinders. “Though it is the Central decision, the state government should bear the additional burden of Rs 350 per cylinder on the consumer beyond the limit of six cylinders. The people are not in a position to bear this additional burden,” Ramachandraiah said, in an open letter to the Chief Minister.

It is rather surprising for a cabinet minister to write such a letter to the Chief Minister against the policy formulated by his own political party. And definitely, there is a reason to believe that Ramachandraiah has the backing of Chiranjeevi!