A humble beginning can easily be forgotten but for some it is a reminder to give a little back. Finance Minister Etala Rajender did this to the Zilla Parishad high school at Kamalapur in Karimnagar district where he studied by donating a new bus from his personal funds.
As students from five nearby villages were missing school owing to commutation problems, Mr. Rajender spent Rs.16.31 lakh to buy and ply the school bus. As a bonus, this has made the school the first government school in the country to own a bus.
More than a gift to his constituency, Mr. Rajender who in private conversations reveals his humble past, made the contribution as he knows well the pains of studying through poverty. As the story goes, the Minister who studied in Aliya Junior College near Fateh maidan used to stand at the college gate distributing Progressive Democratic Students Union’ pamphlets in hope of a classless society. While the revolution is not neigh, at least his rise to power has helped him contribute towards educating those from under privileged backgrounds.
PV, the forgotten hero
Former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was on everyone’s mind last week not only because it was the 25{+t}{+h}anniversary of economic reforms ushered in by him but also a new book about him, Half Lion , made waves. While the reviews were mixed when the English version was released in Delhi, the mood in the function held to release the Telugu one was clearly for PV.
The extent to which the Congress party tried to distance itself from PV during his last years were brought alive by now A.P. Assembly Deputy Speaker and former Congressman M. Buddha Prasad. Apparently, he requested PV to attend a function in Hyderabad and also sought former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s presence too.
But hours before the function began, some partymen berated Mr. Prasad for “spoiling the chances of YSR to become the CM because the high command will be upset by his presence. I was crestfallen and did not know what to do but as minutes ticked by I mustered courage and called up YSR to come because he had not yet reached the venue. He immediately asked if he can start for the function. When I said yes, he came, exchanged pleasantries with PV and left,” Mr. Prasad said.
No clue to loans
of Telangana
Telangana government continues to be clueless about the quantum of loans it owes to lending agencies after formation of the State.
But, a recent report of the Reserve Bank of India has put the loans outstanding by the undivided Andhra Pradesh at Rs 2.62 lakh crore till March last.
The government had in its budget this year estimated the loan to be Rs. 1 lakh crore, which effectively meant that the remaining Rs 1.62 lakh crore stood in the name of Andhra Pradesh.
The sharing of loans outstanding by erstwhile Andhra Pradesh was a ticklish issue since the bifurcation of the State as a thick and fast rule to divide the amount has been elusive. Even the central bank of the country has not helped in the matter.
A game of snakes & ladders, indeed
Like the players in the snakes and ladders game, the bureaucrats in the game of power never know when they fall out of favour or when they get unexpected favours from the powers that be. This senior most Special Chief Secretary-rank officer in Telangana was in the good books of all the powers and power centres in the State till a health problem forced him to go on leave late last year.
And when he returned in the second quarter this year, the position held by him when he left on leave was occupied by an officer who was second in command in the department concerned. In a matter of few months, his fortunes changed so much that he was made to wait for posting for a couple of months.
Recently, he was given a responsibility considered “good” in the bureaucratic circles, easing out the senior officer holding that position to a “loop-line” subject. Isn’t it the real snakes and ladders game!
(NIKHILA HENRY, V. GEETANATH,
N. RAHUL & B. CHANDRASHEKHAR)
