AP Neta's Natter | Naidu Ends the Tale with a Curly Tail

Analogies are staples in politics. Take Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for instance. Never one who is short on ways to take on his opponents, his latest jibe at the YSRC, used an old proverb – there is no way to uncurl a dog’s tail, and no matter what one does, it will stay that way. Naidu’s comments aimed at YSRC which has been going hammer and tongs at the alliance government over conduct of DSC-2025 and recruitment of 16,000 teachers, reflected in some measure, how vexed he was at the repeated allegations by Opposition party. In a possible signal that he was ready to move on from this topic, Naidu at a meeting in West Godavari declaring that no amount of efforts can straighten a dog’s tail, left the matter at that.

Naidu warns against the snooze button

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and alarm bells going off among officials are things that at times tend to go together. Such was precisely the outcome during his visits to Araku and Narsapuram where officials found that Naidu was in no mood to let them hit the snooze button. The tech-savvy CM, with performance figures at his fingertips, moved from one official to another, checking departments’ progress on his mobile phone. His reference to the “poor-performing” departments drew cheers from the gathering, which seemed well aware of the figures Naidu was citing. The wake-up call was not only confined to officials. Narsapuram MLA B. Narayana Nayakar who too found himself on the receiving end of Naidu’s review. Work, Naidu declared, should go on like clockwork minus the snooze button, and, turning to district collector T. Nishanthi, said it might be time for her to crack the whip. By the time Naidu wrapped up, the whole administrative machinery had received a rather unusual hamper — figures, a wake-up call, a deadline and a whip to keep it in line.

Erring TTD staff face retribution

The good Lord usually takes care of his flock. But cross the line and there can be a price to pay. In the cases of TTD employees crossing the line, retribution is reportedly coming in the form of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The last ACB search at the residence of a TTD employee was in 2011, when the ACB raided the house of then deputy executive officer Bhupathi Reddy. The TTD may be doing God’s work, but proving that its employees are mere humans with all their foibles, nearly 15 years later, the bureau has returned, this time at the doorstep of Tirumala temple deputy EO (in-charge) Mendu Lokanadham. Apparently, information shared by the CBI after its laddu ghee case investigation pointed the ACB towards the assets of some TTD employees proving that divine retribution, at times, needs a helping human hand.

Dharmana scion tells Botsa where to get off

A fresh row has erupted between top YSRC leaders of north Andhra – Dharmana Prasada Rao and Botsa Satyanarayana — over Srikakulam politics. The immediate trigger appeared to have come from Dharmana Ram Manohar Naidu, Prasada Rao’s son, who the other day declared that his father, a five-time MLA, needed no advisory from neighbouring district leaders. The reference to Botsa was not lost on his followers who jumped to his defence saying Botsa needs no one’s clearance to talk about what happens in Srikakulam. Botsa, they pointed out, was after all a former AP Congress chief, a minister under Chief Ministers Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, as well as the in charge minister for Srikakulam in the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. To add to these qualifications, Botsa is also the current leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, ergo, he can talk about Srikakulam. Some spheres of influence, apparently have no physical boundaries.

PK fans force collector into jacket of controversy

There are fans, and then are fans of AP Deputy Chief minister Pawan Kalyan. Their apparent ‘enthusiasm’ has reportedly put the Mummidivaram municipal commissioner P. Ravi Varma in a spot of bother. Varma, who participated in Pawan Kalyan’s birthday celebrations was spotted sporting a jacket with the letters ‘OG’ – the latest block buster movie of Pawan Kalyan — inscribed on it. Pictures and videos of this quickly did a lot of rounds with questions being asked on how an official could do what Varma did with that jacket. An explanation followed swiftly that Varma was not to be blamed, it was the Pawan Kalyan fans who forced the jacket onto the official. After all, Varma was there to join the actor’s birthday celebrations and could not refuse the fans’ demand as a matter of courtesy and that Varma should not be straight jacketed into something he had no control over.

An MLA for once refuses a merger

There is never a shortage of ideas that the Bhimili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao can come up with. The latest is his suggestion that the Bhogapuram mandal be merged with Greater Vizag Municipal Corporation, and that he also had a word on this with Nellimarla MLA Lokam Naga Madhavi on this. The MLA, on her part, promptly condemned reports suggesting she approved the merger, stressing she had given no such clarification and would consult local leaders before saying anything on the matter. Madhavi declaring that decisions like mergers cannot be taken until grassroots problems are resolved and benefits reach the poor, however, hinted that she may not really be averse to the move, adding that all local problems will be taken to the attention of the government, leaving people to read between the lines.

Contributions from Vadrevu Srinivas, Aruna, K.M.P. Patnaik, Avinash P. Subramanyam, Sohan Lal, Sampat G. Samritan