Corridors of Power

Corruption in high places

The alleged complicity of the All India Services officers in some major scandals that rocked the country in the recent years and the protracted legal battles that the law enforcement agencies had to wage to bring the corrupt elements to book were the topics Central Vigilance Commissioner K.V. Chowdary touched upon in his speech at a Vigilance Awareness Week meeting in the city.

The fact that lack of documentary proof and exploitation of the scope for undertrials to file review petitions in higher courts were adversely impacting the trial outcomes.

He was, therefore, insistent that the laws should be tweaked while due price of ‘eternal vigilance’ was paid for liberty.

While asserting that no person should be above the law, the CVC observed that corruption had different parameters across geographies.

For instance, speed money is accepted as ‘valid business expenditure’ in the U.S. but not so in the United Kingdom, where it constitutes a cognizable offence.

Waiting for

the next CS

With the clock ticking away for the next Chief Secretary of the State, there is a buzz among the officials about who will get to reach the top. Though various names are being bandied about, the decision is for the Chief Minister to make. The expectation is more about what happens if an officer on verge of retirement gets to wear the mantle?

It will effectively mean curtains for officials with a year or more service left and who nurtured a hope of making it to the prime post. Same goes if anyone with more than two years experience is appointed, it will mean the end of the road for the ‘seniors’. Whoever makes it to the top the hope is that the new incumbent will bring about a reshuffle in the administration to ensure those with more work on hand can share the load with others waiting for some work!

AP blocks take centre-stage

The talk in the administrative circles these days is centred on whether the Andhra Pradesh Government is keen on handing over the buildings allotted to it in the State Secretariat to Telangana State enabling the latter to dismantle the old blocks and construct a state-of-the-art new complex.

The issue has become serious ever since the Telangana Cabinet had passed a resolution seeking Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s intervention in the matter and to ensure that the buildings were handed over to it. Handing over of the AP blocks is also said to have figured in the one-on-one interaction between AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and the Governor during the former’s recent visit to the city.

Talk is on that the AP Government had conveyed in principle its no objection to the proposal, but there is no clarity on the timing of handing over the blocks. Senior officials of Andhra Pradesh appear to be of the view that there is no point in continuing the skeletal staff in Hyderabad as a majority of the Government’s functions are anyway being carried out from the new capital region Amaravati.

Unexciting beard

A man who has patience to grow a beard has the patience to deal with hard things, so goes a saying.

The usually unexciting beard is now talk of the political circles with no less than two powerful men of the present State politics involved in it.

TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy’s reported statement that he would not shave till the Congress returns to power is the point of discussion among politicians and officials so much so that Telangana State IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao took a dig at Uttam’s growing beard saying it would only grow for years and Uttam would never have to shave. Congress leaders shot back saying KTR should not undermine the bearded face as his father KCR too had to grow one for Telangana during his fast-unto-death.

As the beard talk heats up and ignites discussions, political activists wonder whether the TPCC president has the patience to grow it and deal with the hard political challenges ahead of him. As of now he seems to be basking in its discussion.

Catchy uniforms

Telangana’s cops are eye candy for foreign delegates at conferences the city hosts. At the World Stroke Congress last month, Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy’s security entourage comprising armed TS cops was present in the hall where the Minister was scheduled to speak. Though two cops stood unassuming at a corner, they became the object of several snaps, thanks to their uniform, weapons and their ironic presence in a room teeming with doctors and scientists!

More recently, the Innova vehicles of Cyberabad cops became a spectacle for delegates attending the iCANN 57 meet in the city. A few even marvelled at the State government for lending such support in fighting cyber crime, given that these vehicles prominently display ‘Cyberabad’ on their bodies.

V. Raghavendra,

V. Geetanath, M. Rajeev,

R. Ravikanth Reddy &

Rohith P.S.