The decision to withdraw the three-capitals bill has come as a shock not just to the opposition and the public at large, but also to the members of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s cabinet. Barring a few, most of the ministers were kept in the dark about the bill.

It is now emerging that except a couple of bureaucrats, ministers Botsa, Perni Nani and Buggana Rajendranath, no one knew about the proposal. When the ministers were called for an urgent meeting, they were under the impression that they would be asked to resign to enable Jagan to take up the cabinet reshuffle. Only after they met, did they come to know about the decision to withdraw the 3-capital bill.

Many ministers are said to be still in a state of shock because of the secrecy that Jagan adopted. The papers were placed before them and they were asked to sign and approve the content. After explaining why he was withdrawing the bill, Jagan reportedly asked them to keep the contents secret. He ordered that none should speak to the media on the issue.

Soon after the meeting was over, there were animated debates over Jagan’s secretive style of functioning. The ministers were reportedly asking each other as to whether they knew the move was in the making. Most ministers feigned ignorance. The utter unpredictability of YS Jagan’s actions is now the hot topic of debate among the party biggies.