A minor reshuffle of a few key bureaucrats in the Telangana government is in the offing later this month. The resignation of senior officer V. Nagi Reddy, Principal Secretary, who is presently heading the Finance Department, has necessitated the changes. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has already confirmed that Mr. Reddy will take over as the first State Election Commissioner of Telangana.
The grapevine has it that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is keen on posting a “trusted man” to replace Mr. Reddy but the bureaucrat, who is tipped to take over the Finance Department, is stated to be not keen on the job because his present assignment has won him praise from the Chief Minister.
When asked whether he was unwilling to switch to the new role, the officer of the Special Chief Secretary rank politely said: “It’s the prerogative of the Chief Minister to pick his team. There’s no good or bad post as such in the government. Every post is important.” Does that mean he is moving over unwillingly?
Grand plan yet to translate into reality
Soon after Telangana came into existence on June 2, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao while addressing the first session of the Telangana Assembly had made a grandiose announcement that the post of Legislature Secretary would be upgraded on par with Lok Sabha Secretary General.
The announcement received thunderous applause from all the legislators. If the proposal was put into action, the Legislature Secretary would have been equal to the rank of Chief Secretary of the State. Five months down the line, the proposal seems to have made no headway. All that one hears is that the proposal was indeed forwarded by the government to the Governor’s office for approval. Reports suggest that the file has been sent back to the government with a query.
So, the Legislature Secretary, who is on extension, will have to wait till luck smiles on him.
AP govt. resigned to its fate
The formation of the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) has brought the curtains down on the combined examinations controversy. There was much mud slung between both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments over the issue, confusing students and parents who were eagerly waiting for a solution.
The Telangana government not only appointed its own Secretary but also brought in former Secretary of BIE, M. Veerabhadraiah, a no nonsense officer, to assist the secretary in conducting the exams, thus sealing any hopes of combined exams. Mr. Veerabhadraiah is a retired bureaucrat.
The response of the AP Human Resource Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao after the Telangana BIE was formed, reflected how the government accepted the reality. Mr. Rao, who till the other day was arguing that combined exams was the only way to avoid legal wrangles, finally said that they would try for combined exams till the last minute. Telangana officials feel the statement revealed that the AP government had resigned to its fate.
Hope in despair
One issue that is never left out of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s wish list when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his New Delhi trip is the delay in the distribution of IAS, IPS and forest service officers between the two States. It was no exception on his latest visit to the capital for the Chief Ministers’ conference.
The officers have lot of expectations from Mr. Rao whenever he visits New Delhi. But time alone will tell when the process is completed.
