Hyderabad, Feb 2: Though his recent attempts to expand and reshuffle his cabinet were vetoed by the Congress High Command, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy still appears to be keen on doing so.

The Chief Minister recently tried to drop some ministers from the cabinet and induct some of his loyalists. Similarly, he reported to have wanted to change key portfolios held by some of the”non-performing” ministers. However, the high command had given permission only to induct two erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party members’ men in the cabinet and sack Dr P. Shankar Rao, who had become totally wayward and unmanageable.

However, the Chief Minister is reported to be planning to go to New Delhi in a couple of days to press for expansion of his cabinet. He is believed to be planning to impress upon the Congress leadership on the need to accommodate Telangana MLAs in the cabinet. It may be recalled that four ministers Jupalli Krishna Rao, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Konda Surekha and Dr Shankar Rao quit the cabinet. While the first three quit the cabinet voluntarily on the Telangana issue, Dr Shankar Rao was shown the door for his indiscipline.

The Chief Minister is likely to initially seek permission to accommodate four MLAs loyal to him in the cabinet. He was trying to get an appointment with party president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad. It was also being said that the CM is keen on getting permission for Cabinet expansion before the conclusion of the ensuing budget session.