Saturday, June 27, 2009

CHEVELLA CHELLEMMA IS HOME MINISTER

Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday got its first woman Home Minister when Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy handed over the key portfolio to Patlolla Sabitha Reddy, the 49-year-old MLA from the newly created Maheshwaram seat in Ranga Reddy district.
The wife of P Indra Reddy, the former home minister in the NTR cabinet who died in a road accident in April 2000, Sabitha held the Mines and Geology, Handlooms and Textiles and Spinning Mills portfolio in YSR’s previous Cabinet.
Born in Kotabasupally village in Ranga Reddy district, Sabitha entered politics after her husband’s death. In 2004, she contested the Assembly polls for the first time from Chevella, her husband’s seat, and won.
It was from Chevella that YSR launched his 1,450-km padayatra in 2003 and went on to become the CM the next year. Since then Chevella has become the favourite place for YSR to launch all his programmes and Sabitha came to be known as his adopted sister ‘Chevella Chellamma’