Old habits die hard. At times, for politicians, old associations have a way of coming to the fore as was the case with the BJP floor leader in the Telangana Assembly A. Maheshwar Reddy. An active leader in the Congress until a couple of years ago, Maheshwar Reddy was at the BJP’s Rythu Deeksha he organised and led in Hyderabad this past week. Several top state BJP leaders joined him, as did AbhayaPatil, the BJP’s organisation in-charge for Telangana. During his speech, Maheshwar Reddy mistakenly called Patil the AICC in-charge for the state, and was about to continue with his speech when it was pointed out that Patil is not from Congress but the BJP and that the slip of the tongue needs correction. He did, but not before many in the gathering noticed the slip.
PEOPLE FLOCK TO CONGRESS HEADQUARTERS FOR WOES
It is not often that one sees a “battle of the Bhavans”. The last Telangana saw was the one between the Raj and Pragati Bhavans, when K. Chandrashekar Rao did not see eye-to-eye on almost everything with the Governor. And now, there appears to be a redux, but of a different sort. The edifices in question now are Praja Bhavan (formerly Pragati Bhavan), and Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters. Praja Bhavan in Begumpet has been a destination for hundreds and even thousands of people lining up to submit their petitions to the government at the bi-weekly Prajavani programme launched by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. Nowadays, there’s mostly an IAS officer, along with a small contingent of staff, manning the programme, with ministers putting in a rare appearance. Things have been humming along nicely there but then a curveball hit. Newly-appointed TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, as part of livening up Gandhi Bhavan, launched a ‘Meet the Minister’ programme at the party HQ. Meant for party workers and leaders, this quickly morphed into Prajavani 2.0. Each Wednesday and Friday, ministers, more powerful and arguably more influential than the IAS officers stationed at Praja Bhavan, are receiving a flood of petitions directly from the public as people soon realised that Gandhi Bhavan could offer a faster track to their desired solutions. As word spread, the dynamic shifted, with crowds dwindling at Praja Bhavan and rising at Gandhi Bhavan with the latter now clocking up to 2,500 visitors lining up to meet the ministers. With the floodgates of petitions open at both Bhavans, it’s anyone’s guess which Bhavan will come out on top in this new battle.
IAS BABU FINDS HIMSELF IN POLITICAL CROSSFIRE
In yet another twist to the strained relationship between senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and the Congress government in Telangana, the special chief secretary found himself in the spotlight once more — this time, following a social media post. Known for his allegiance to the previous BRS regime, Arvind’s recent post on X has sent ripples through the Congress corridors with the controversy erupting soon after the Centre released flood relief assistance on October 1 to 14 states. While NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh received `1,036 crore and poll-bound Maharashtra bagged the highest `1,492 crore, Telangana was given a mere `416 crore in stark contrast to the Congress government’s request for over `10,000 crore. Congress leaders were quick to express outrage, accusing the Centre of blatant discrimination. Even as this indignation peaked, Arvind, in a return to social media after a nine-month hiatus, posted on X that Telangana can expect more funds in the days ahead, and that the `416 crore was merely an “immediate” assistance. More funds will follow based on the final report submitted to the Centre, he said. The post struck a discordant note amid the political finger-pointing, leaving the ruling party embarrassed, with some Congress leaders reportedly questioning the bureaucrat’s loyalty.
NEW METRO RAIL CHIEF ON THE CARDS
In a city where Metro Rail trains run like clockwork (mostly), it seems the man behind the scenes, N.V.S. Reddy, might soon be stepping off his 17-year-long ride as managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL). Appointed way back in 2007 by then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in undivided Andhra Pradesh, NVS has managed to hold on to his seat through political storms, state bifurcation, and different CMs, changes that you will need both hands to count. But it looks like the Congress government headed by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is ready to apply the brakes on NVS, for long mastering the art of clinging to his post. Revanth Reddy is gunning for an ambitious Metro Rail expansion project and whispers in the corridors of powers say that NVS’s decade-and-a-half of survival instincts might not be enough to meet the CM’s vision for a “war footing” approach. Rumour has it that three technocrats — including a contender from the South Central Railway—are being considered to take over the steering wheel at the HMRL and press the accelerator.
POLITICOS FIGHT FORFAVOURED COPS
Recall the popular childhood game of cops and… you know how that goes. But, in the real world, things are different and it is more of a game of cops and politicians with clearly drawn lines between the two getting blurred real fast. Take the case of the Nizamabad police commissionerate. Recently, the city’s top cop Kalmeshwer Shinganevar decided to effect the transfer of inspectors, well within the limits of rights and rules enjoyed by the official. But then came the other side. Not all leaders in the Congress were reportedly happy with the proposed changes and the transfers were in limbo for a while, and dropped. The game has surely changed from the one children play in which the cops always win.
REVANTH TAKES ON KVP
There seems to be more than what meets the eye in the recent outburst of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy against veteran Congress leader and former MP K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao. The Chief Minister openly accused his party colleague of conspiring with the BRS leadership to create unrest in Hyderabad by instigating people living on the Musi riverbed. A little bird says that Revanth Reddy’s grouse against KVP, who once wielded enormous power thanks to his sole qualification of proximity to Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, is not new. As it was an open secret that KVP enjoyed good relations with BRS supremo K. Chandrashekar Rao during the latter’s 10-year rule, Revanth Reddy is believed to have voiced his suspicions on KVP with the party high command in the run-up for 2023 Assembly polls. Post change of guard, insiders say, KVP has emerged as a father figure for the anti-Revanth Reddy camp and CM’s grouse is that the rival’s activities were not confined to dissidence within but have now gone beyond.
MARITIME HEAD HONCHO NEEDS LESSONS IN MANNERS?
The penchant to court controversy seems to be never dying for C.V. Adithya Praveen, CEO of Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board. The juniors are humiliated by the babu who openly abuses them using unprintable language, and extends these “courtesies” even to those on Ayyappa Deeksha, and calls them fraudsters. He was in the news earlier for humiliating his colleague, the visually-challenged K. Simhachalam, and not offering a chair to then MLA V. Rajeshwari, forcing her to sit on the floor along with her supporters. The officer again hit the headlines when he was moved out of poll duty following complaints of bias towards YSR Congress and the complainant was none other than Dy CM Pawan Kalyan. And now, the official’s rude behaviour has drawn the attention of the CMO, if the word doing the rounds in the bureaucratic corridors is anything to go by.
LADDUS TURN INTO POLITICAL FODDER
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who kicked off a huge storm with revelations on tainted ghee used in the making of the famous Tirupati laddus, received much-needed support from ally and state BJP president D. Purandeswari amidst the continuing back and forth over the laddus issue, with the Supreme Court saying religion should be kept out of politics and the YSRC latching on and saying that Naidu was all along targeting its leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for political gain using the issue. The SC’s remarks on Naidu arrived not too long after the court pulled up Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over his comments on the judiciary, particularly orders from the court. Though the Revanth Reddy issue is still fresh, it apparently did not make any difference to Purandeswari, who said that Naidu, as the Chief Minister and constitutional head, had the prerogative to make a statement on the issue after holding a review with the officials and the court’s responsibility was to see whether the government decisions were being implemented properly or not. Her comments followed the Supreme Court, in the Tirupati laddus case, saying a person holding a high constitutional function should be careful on what he or she says, especially when an inquiry is already underway. For good measure, she added that people should think on how far the courts can go on what the Chief Minister can or cannot say.
GOOD TIMES AHEAD FOR PAWAN KALYAN’S PITHAPURAM
Good luck is hard to come by, but for the people of Pithapuram — who elected Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan, who went on to become AP’s Deputy Chief Minister — a jackpot has certainly arrived. With him becoming the No. 2 in the government, authorities have been holding a grievance redressal day every Monday in Pithapuram. With the district collector Shan Mohan making it clear that Pithapuram is a VIP constituency and grievances received must be attended to immediately, people in the constituency have started believing that good times are coming for them finally.
Contributions from N. Vamsi Srinivas, Vadrevu Srinivas, Sampat G. Samritan, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Neeraj Kumar, Narender Pulloor