Hyderabad: The fate of Mr Anil Chandra Punetha, who was transferred by the Election Commission as Chief Secretary, is linked with the fortunes of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Mr Punetha was appointed CS on August 1 last year and will retire at the end of May, just after one week after the counting of votes on May 23. It will be decided on that day if Mr Naidu stays on or the YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy forms government.
The continuation of Chief Secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam, appointed by the Election Commission, will also depend on the election outcome. If Mr Naidu retains power, it is expected he will be transferred and Mr Punetha brought back as Chief Secretary,
This would be similar to what late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had done in 2009, when the Election Commission removed then DGP S.S.P. Yadav following complaints from the Opposition, Dr Reddy retained power and after taking oath as Chief Minister for the second time reinstated Mr Yadav as DGP.
Sources close to Mr Naidu said that if Mr Punetha is reinstated, he will be given a three-month extension. Mr Punetha could get a further three-month extension depending on the Centre. At present, Mr Punetha is serving as Special CS. If Mr Naidu loses the polls, he will retire in his current job. If Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy comes to power, he may continue with Mr Subrahmanyam as as he is the most senior IAS officer. If he does so, he will have to be ready for criticism from the TD which has taken a strident stand against the appointment Mr Subrahmanyam, citing cases related to the YSRC chief.
