It's tough being an MLA sometimes with colleagues not hesitating to plug for their own interests.
It's tough being an MLA sometimes with colleagues not hesitating to plug for their own interests. Minister Konda Surekha found this out the other day at a grama sabha in Pembarthi where the topic of discussion was Indiramma houses. The drama began when Wardhannapet MLA K.R. Nagaraju said the houses granted in his constituency were just not enough, and suggested that the extra houses granted to Warangal East constituency were not needed, and could be redirected to his constituency. The problem with this immediately became clear with Surekha, representing Warangal East, shooting back at Nagaraju, "If you need houses, ask for them. But why talk about my constituency?" Watching this little instant battle play out was housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy.
'Work from home CM' BRS jibe at Revanth
It seems to be the turn of BRS leaders now to brand Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy as 'work from home CM' or 'work from police command control centre CM'. Revanth is mostly avoiding the Secretariat these days, especially after the Lok Sabha election results in June last. He is holding review meetings mostly at his residence or at the police command control centre. When K. Chandrashekar Rao was CM, Congress leaders branded him a 'farmhouse CM' as he avoided the Secretariat completely and discharged duties from his farmhouse or from then Pragathi Bhavan. BRS leader T. Harish Rao argues that KCR had an excuse — the old Secretariat was demolished and the now Secretariat was being rebuilt. He asks why Revanth was holding meetings at his residence or the police command control centre when the Secretariat had big conference halls which could accommodate a large gathering of ministers and officials.
MLA has hubby's b'day party at bus stand, holds up traffic
Being in the news for an MLA is just one move away, whether good or bad depending on the point of view of the person involved, as was the case with Yashaswini Reddy, the MLA from Palakurthi, who hosted her husband's birthday party at the bus stand in Thorrur village. Diesel fumes and dust apparently were of no concern as were commuter difficulties with the MLA saying "what's the big deal? We're all for public service," even as frustrated bus drivers leant on the horns to make their displeasure known, unable to make their way into the bus stand as the MLA and her followers turned the place into a party parking lot with their vehicles filling every inch of space.
Komatireddy shuts constituency door on other leaders
A lone ranger approach may not be the best practice in politics. After all, it is all about a joint effort, working together, and the like, and of course, colleagues may not take kindly to getting snubbed and this appears to be playing out with the redoubtable Telangana roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who is apparently facing a blowback of sorts, with fellow party MLAs preferring to stay away from his constituency, even for official programmes. All this reportedly after Komatireddy made it clear to the Congress MLAs and MPs in the district not to interfere in the matters of his constituency. The situation has reached a point where Nalgonda MP K. Raghuveer Reddy is reportedly feeling the pressure and is not attending some official programmes in Nalgonda Assembly constituency. Even when BRS leaders are attacking Komatireddy, his party colleagues are apparently in a silent mode.
Leaders race to slow down Formula E case
Putting up a brave face apart in the Formula E Race case in which their leader K.T. Rama Rao is the accused No. 1 as per the FIR, the BRS is doing what it can to put the brakes on the speed of investigations. The other day, former IPS officer, and now BRS leader R.S. Praveen Kumar filed a lengthy and "comprehensive" complaint at the Narsingi police station over alleged breach of trust against the Congress government. Adding elements to the case may eventually slow down the probe somewhat, and also the fact that a one-time senior police officer filed such a complaint may give some traction to the BRS narrative of how the Congress government is the culprit in the whole affair, is apparently what the party is hoping for.
Blame game floods Kaleshwaram
It's not easy to be a part of a serious investigation into the competencies of one's colleagues, negligence of duties, and likely corruption. Finding out this harsh truth, if the information trickling out of Jalasoudha, the Telangana irrigation department's HQ, is anything to go by. With widespread expectations that the axe will fall on a handful of officials over the Kaleshwaram project mess and how its barrages got damaged during the BRS rule, the department is becoming a battleground for, lack of a better expression, 'Gangs of Kaleshwaram', each out to protect itself and blame the rest for the disasters that dogged the project. This has apparently reached a stage where some irrigation department officials deputed to the Justice P.C. Ghose-led judicial commission of inquiry are being warned of dire consequences for "cooperating" with the inquiry, and doing what was tasked to them. With a lot riding on those with hands on Kaleshwaram secrets to hide, the threats delivered are believed to be quite serious.
Stampede in mind, TTD fears Ratha Saptami
Once bitten.... Within the rank and file of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), every upcoming event at the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala is now said to be laced with some dread, after the recent stampede during the Vaikunta Dwaram darshan ticket sale. TTD workers, especially in the lower ranks, are worried that they will be the ones who will bear the brunt if things go wrong. The stampede saw several senior officials within the TTD getting the boot. Now with the Ratha Saptami festival on February 4, employees and police officers are hesitant about taking up responsibilities on the ground. While TTD top officials are busy making arrangements and promising a smooth festival, those expected to execute these plans are apprehensive about things possibly going sideways.
For Lokesh, Davos discussions more vital than MoUs
Competition manifests in different ways. Just take the case of AP and Telangana over the outcomes of visits by their Chief Ministers to the recent World Economic Forum meet in Davos. AP's IT and education minister Nara Lokesh says that what is important at meetings like the ones at Davos are that agreements don't have to be executed in Davos; rather, the focus should be on discussions, as demonstrated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Lokesh, for good measure, cited the case of AP and ArcelorMittal, who, instead of focusing on an MoU, suggested that the plans for investment be implemented directly. This question popped up after a questioner compared Telangana's announcement of securing investments of `1.78 lakh crore at the Davos meet.
Wife-husband collectors 'fight' over their district potential
Family obviously comes first but when it comes to work, all bets are off. At a tourism summit the other day, a friendly rivalry between a husband-wife duo serving as district collectors of ASR and Anakapalli districts of AP unfolded, with both pitching the potential in their districts for tourism development and inviting investors. After the Alluri Sitarama Raju district collector's Dinesh Kumar finished his presentation on investment opportunities in their jurisdiction, his spouse and Anakapalli collector Vijaya Krishnan took the stage with a playful counter-presentation, saying, "we have no restrictions - everyone's welcome to invest in our district!" drawing chuckles and appreciation from the investors and stakeholders at the summit.
Ayyanna tells beach cops to take it easy
Heavily policed beaches? Nothing attractive about them according to AP Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu who recently opened up on the crackdown on people having a relaxing evening, or a late night, at the beaches in Vizag. People don't just go to beaches for a cup of tea or coffee, they need better activities for relaxing and for entertainment as available at other beaches in the country, he said. Among his prescriptions towards this goal was a bit of advice to the police: take it easy and stop arresting people who stay back at the beaches late into the night. If tourism is to be encouraged, then the right conditions need to be created.
Collector wears helmet in safety message
Leading by example sometimes has officials doing what they normally would not do, like riding a moped. Take the case of senior IAS officer and Eluru district collector K. Vetriselvi who made it clear that two-wheeler riders must wear helmets for their own safety, and of course, if they don't do so, the first they will lose is their driving licence. To show how easy it is to comply with law and to prevent possible injuries to self, she got onto a moped, strapped on a helmet and rode it some distance.
Contributions from Avinash P. Subramanyam, Sampat G. Samritan, Aruna, P. Srinivas, Laxmi Pranathi, Puli Sharath Kumar, K.M.P. Patnaik, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Balu Pulipaka.
