Telangana Neta Natter | A Sacrifice: Revanth Draws The Line For Jatipita

Telangana politics has found a new obsession, a father of all battles, if you will. And it is not welfare schemes, but a high-stakes question of “who is the Telangana Jatipita?”— the symbolic father of the state. The BRS insists the crown belongs to K. Chandrashekar Rao, arguing that his relentless agitation culminated in the birth of Telangana in 2014, but the Congress rubbishes the claim, with moral qualifiers. According to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, history anoints a Jatipita with the status reserved for those who sacrifice everything for a cause, with the benchmark being Mahatma Gandhi. By that yardstick, Prof. K. Jayashankar fits the role of giving up personal comforts for Telangana, while Sonia Gandhi could be hailed as ‘Telangana Talli’ for sacrificing the Congress’ political interests to create the state. KCR, as per Revanth Reddy, failed the test following his decade-long rule marked by wealth accumulation. And there the matter stands.

IPS targeting gets nasty, BRS writes ‘pink book’

BRS leaders have added a new chapter to their theatre of threats, with senior IPS officers finding themselves unwilling protagonists. Even as the controversy over BRS Huzurabad MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy’s religion-linked remarks against the Karimnagar police commissioner Gaush Alam refuses to fade, another salvo has been fired — this time at Hyderabad city police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, with cinematic flair. BRS former MLA from Armoor A. Jeevan Reddy openly warned Sajjanar of ‘serious consequences’ if the BRS returns to power in three years. Accusing the Sajjanar of functioning like a Congress activist, Jeevan Reddy’s grouse was that Sajjanar was selectively targeting BRS leaders while handling the SIT probe into the phone-tapping case. In a remark that raised eyebrows across political and bureaucratic circles, A. Jeevan Reddy said he had entered Sajjanar’s name as “No. 1” in his so-called ‘pink book,’ a list of those to be dealt with later. He went a step further, declaring that he would not erase the name even if KCR or KTR personally ask him to, vowing instead to ‘chase’ the officer. As rhetoric heats up, the thin line between political bravado and intimidation appears increasingly blurred.

An unexpected promotion for 2 civic babus

The sign of things to come, well, can come in different forms. In the GHMC, the signals apparently have to do with how two of its several additional commissioners are “high-powered”. The reason? While each important wing of GHMC has an additional commissioner heading it, such as sanitation, advertisements etc., for the first time, two IAS officers are heading three zones each. While one heads Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Quthbullapur zones, another is in-charge of Malkajgiri, Uppal and LB Nagar. The buzz is that these two super ACs are all set to become commissioners of Cyberabad/Serilingampally Corporation and for Malkajgiri Corporation when the time comes to split the GHMC into three corporations. This being the state of affairs, junior IAS officers, also in the GHMC, are treading carefully with these two ‘super ACs’ as they could just end up as their bosses.

Turfed out. Cong. vs Cong. in Nalgonda

Whose turf is it anyway? And who gets a say on who runs the show when an election comes around? Is it the party, or the designated leader? These questions, that vex any political party, with local leaders unwilling to give up control, have apparently been answered in Nalgonda. Notwithstanding the task assigned to the ‘screening committee’ to decide the candidates for the municipal polls, apparently the local MLAs sort of ran the show, more so when a heavyweight leader happened to be from that area. For instance, Adluri Laxman was the incharge minister for Nalgonda, considered a stronghold of another minister, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who was reportedly busy conducting meetings for picking aspirants in the district. The confusion was good enough for several aspirants who were denied tickets to blame local public representatives at several places and for causing disruptions on the last day of withdrawals.

Nabin clicks, but pix have a bigger say

A picture may say a thousand words. But, in the process, real words could well become the casualty. That appeared to be the case when BJP’s newly minted national president Nitin Nabin on his first visit to Telangana took part in a public meeting designed to be a feel-good event for all those contesting the municipal polls in the district. Soon after he zipped to the meeting venue after landing at the Shamshabad airport, excited state-level leaders queued up for the hellos, particularly as many of them had never met Nabin before. The party leadership also had a line of candidates for the upcoming polls to be greeted by Nabin. The BJP prez made it a point to have a word or two with each of them, but he also appeared to have noticed that even as this was going on, those meeting him had their attention on a line of cameras in front of the dais, waiting for a picture to preserve the moments for posterity. A few words of pep talk may have its place, but a picture with Nabin was all that mattered for many.

Medak again set for a battle royale

As battlegrounds go, Medak, Sangareddy and Siddipet districts never fail to find a place in the list especially in the run-up to any election. This time too it is no different with municipal polls looming. The BRS with its chief K. Chandrashekar Rao, and senior leader T. Harish Rao from Siddipet, in a manner of speaking, has hit the ground running. The Congress is not far behind with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy scheduled to visit Medak for a campaign meeting. Both sides have much to gain, and much to lose, not just in real terms but metaphorically too. Watching from the sidelines and hoping to make inroads is the BJP slowly staking a claim to bragging rights.

BRS/Cong. doctor spells bitter medicine

Fancy footwork may not be just a dancer’s or a cricketer’s domain as demonstrated by Jagtial MLA Dr Sanjay Kumar. At a presser, the doctor-turned-politician diagnosed himself as a ‘100% BRS MLA,’ but him being surrounded by Congress candidates for the municipal polls raised many an eyebrow. Declaring that every month `5,000 was deducted from his bank account towards the BRS fund, Dr Sanjay said that should put matters at rest on which party he is with. But Dr Sanjay’s bonhomie with Congress leaders has had party super-senior from Jagtial, T. Jeevan Reddy, seeing red even as Dr Sanjay, with his two-step act, has left many in the district Congress wondering about what is that which is going on in Jagtial politics.

Contributions from L. Venkat Ram Reddy, P. Srinivas, Neeraj Kumar, Md Nizamuddin, Nabinder Bommala, Narender Pulloor, Balu Pulipaka, Puli Sharat Kumar