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Botcha Satyanarayana, the Andhra Pradesh minister who recently lost the major industries portfolio in the wake of the Volkswagen-related scandal, has been entrusted with the cash-rich marketing portfolio on Friday.
Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy has also announced a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the state government's attempts to get a Volkswagen car manufacturing plant in Visakhapatnam.
The payment of Rs 11 crore by the government to Vashista Wahan, a purported joint venture of VW, as equity investment earlier this year will also be investigated.
In view of media reports and allegations made by the opposition, Satyanarayana had sought a change of portfolio and the chief minister had conceded to his request on Thursday. The minister had requested the chief minister not to allocate any portfolio to him till the CBI completed its probe.
"My conscience does not permit me to hold any portfolio till I am given a clean chit. Staying without a portfolio is not a problem," Satyanarayana had said.
The opposition parties, as well as the ruling Congress party's allies, have demanded the sacking of the minister for his questionable role in paying Rs 11 crore to a dubious firm. They have questioned the action of the chief minister in entrusting a "key portfolio" like marketing to the scam-hit minister.
The Telugu Desam Party petitioned Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde, requesting him to dismiss the tainted minister from the Cabinet in the interest of an impartial probe by the CBI.
The TDP claimed that the minister and officials, with the knowledge and connivance of the chief minister, had committed a fraud by being directly involved in siphoning of Rs 11 crore of public funds.
The Bharatiya Janata Party also demanded the minister's sacking. The Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India-Marxist have also objected to Satyanarayana continuing as a minister.
When the role of the minister was doubtful, the chief minister should have dropped him immediately to ensure a fair probe, they observed.
The chief minister himself held the marketing portfolio till now. With 299 agricultural market committees and 889 notified market yards, the marketing department is flush with funds. The department has drawn up an action plan with an outlay of Rs 191 crore in the current financial year for the development of market infrastructure, farmer welfare programmes, information technology and training with the funds pooled from the market committees.