AP ministers, including all YSR loyalists, sworn in

Ending three days of confusion, ministers of the erstwhile Cabinet of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, including all the loyalists of the late chief minister, were today sworn in afresh as required under the Constitution.

They were administered oath of office and secrecy by Governor ND Tiwari at a brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.

The oath-taking ended all speculation whether YSR loyalists who were clamouring for Reddy's son Jaganmohan Reddy as the next chief minister, would join the government under interim chief minister K Rosaiah with the Congress high command invervening and asking them not to precipitate matters during the mourning period that ends next Thursday.

Earlier, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh held discussions with Rajya Sabha member KVP Ramachandra Rao, who was adviser to YSR, and impressed on him that loyalists of the late chief minister should also join the government.

Some seven to eight ministers of YSR cabinet, including P Ramachandra Reddy, J Krishna Rao and Syed Ahmadullah, were reportedly reluctant to join the Rosaiah government.

The YSR loyalists held a meeting with Ramachandra Rao who counselled them to give up their diffidence and take oath.

Earlier, the governor, after consulting legal experts, decided that the ministers would have to take oath afresh to fulfil a constitutional requirement following the swearing-in of new chief minister K Rosaiah on Thursday.

There has been a lot of confusion over the status of the ministers who served under Rajasekhara Reddy before his death in a helicopter crash on Wednesday.

Legal experts contended that the ministers were required to again take oath of office afresh since a new chief minister had taken over.

Rosaiah himself wrote to the governor on the issue as he wanted to clear the air. The governor, in turn, asked state chief secretary P Ramakanth Reddy to explain the legal and constitutional position in this regard.

Accordingly, the chief secretary and state Advocate General Seetarama Murthy met the Governor late last night and reportedly conveyed to him that the ministers were required to take oath once again.

Official sources said legal and constitutional experts in New Delhi were also consulted.

"Since a controversy has arisen over the status of ministers, the concluding view was that it would be better to administer fresh oath of office to them so as to avoid any constitutional violation," a top-ranking official in the General Administration Department said.