Neta Natter Telangana | Kaushik Trash Talk On Dump Yard Backfires

Any project coming the way of a politician would be grabbed up, you would think. But then, there are projects and projects, and some are clearly more than the other. Ask BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy of Huzurabad, always on a hair-trigger. The government’s plan to set up a waste to energy plant in his constituency has seemingly sent the legislator on a radical new career path. Fuming over the proposal, the MLA declared that he was ready to become an “Assembly Naxalite” to fight for his people. While the Centre is busy trying to make the country Naxal-free, and taking up cudgels against “urban naxals”. Kaushik seems headed in the opposite direction, albeit within the air-conditioned comfort of the Legislative Assembly. His logic? If the trash stays, the rebel comes out. It is being asked about if the new persona involves Kaushik trading in his white cottons and picking up the metaphorical megaphone for revolutionary dump-the-dump yard speeches. The sulk-a-minute neta’s announcement backfired faster than a faulty popgun. Oh! the irony of declaring oneself a Naxalite in the very building designed for democratic debate, they said. Calling yourself a Naxalite in a sacred place like the Assembly is like calling yourself an atheist in a temple, said one. Interestingly, Kaushik’s Huzurabad is part of Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s Karimnagar LS constituency. For now, the people of Huzurabad are left wondering if their next constituency meeting will require a peace treaty or just a better garbage truck.

Azhar’s required run rate becoming tighter

For a cricketer used to counting tight runs-vs-balls equations with time running out, former India captain and minister Mohammed Azharuddin could well have taken to ticking the days off the calendar and working up more exotic equations. His tenure in the Cabinet will end when April winds down, marking the conclusion of six months, with Azhar still not managing to get elected to the legislature. Azzu miyan would clearly be looking at the third umpire at Lok Bhavan, hoping to get the green light for a Council seat in the Governor’s “team”. That appears to be the only way captain saab can stay ensconced in his berth. The powers that be are said to be at work, considering many strokes, one of which could get him safely across the boundary. One of them is to get Azhar to quit the Cabinet and appoint him to the Cabinet again. Unusual as this option is, a fly on the wall says that legal eagles are being buzzed about this scoop shot. Azzu miyan, not new to cliffhangers, meanwhile is said to be zealously guarding his crease. You are talking about the summer heat? Imagine what Azhar must be facing.

New entrant unsettles race for top babu seat

There is never a quiet day in the storied halls of official power, where it appears to be to expect the unexpected. Think of the race to be the head of the state’s babudom, the hallowed post of Chief Secretary. For some time now, it appeared to be a straight battle for the bureaucratic throne between Jayesh Ranjan and Vikas Raj. But then, there is always a quiet thriller unfolding in bureaucratic corridors. With K. Ramakrishna Rao set to retire on June 30, at the end of his twice-renewed tenure, the story has received an unexpected twist. Senior IAS officer Sanjay Jaju, currently on Central deputation, is said to be heading back to the Telangana cadre, and stepping straight into the frame. For a long time, Jaju was considered to be out of the game, posted as he was in the high-visibility information and broadcasting ministry at the Centre. After he was shifted from the crucial post, news that Jaju is heading back is sending ripples. Jaju’s name may also be considered for a crucial and high-profile IT and industries post, if he does make it to the coveted room in the sixth floor of the Secretariat. The other race, meanwhile, is all but settled. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy appears to have made up his mind to make seniormost IPS official C.V. Anand the Director General of Police, head of the Telangana police force.

Revanth meet supercharges Premsagar

Talk about a dose of power and a good word from the top acting like magic remedies. This past week saw Mancherial MLA K. Premsagar Rao overcoming health issues and being fully in-charge at the Pipri public meeting featuring Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, no less. The meeting was a success and that only served to supercharge the MLA. It was not so long ago that Premsagar had turned down a cushy job with Cabinet rank, preferring to bide his time to be a Cabinet minister. Post a spell of ill-health, the MLA sprang back into action, swinging the Congress away from the mayor's post of Mancherial and chairman and vice chairman of Luxettipet municipality in his Assembly constituency. Surprisingly, Premsagar did not take charge of the chairman of the Civil Supplies Corporation with a status of Cabinet minister even after appointing him to the post in October of last year, pinning a lot of hopes on a full-fledged ministry. He reportedly told his supporters that he was still a strong contender for the ministry in the next Cabinet expansion.

Netha seeks cop muscle to be strong neta

In the minefield of politics that Nalgonda district is turning into, a spot of security and profile will do a world of good to navigate through the treacherous waters and make it safely to port. Learning this lesson quickly are supporters of Nalgonda district Congress president Punna Kailash Netha, who is finding himself kept out of the scene by the biggies in his bailiwick. He was not allowed to get on stage at a party function recently, and has not been invited to some Congress events, it is being said. The solution of the supporters: Provide Netha, otherwise known for keeping a low profile, a gunman to boost his presence. The police are noticeably reluctant, arguing that Netha does not face a real security threat. Besides, no one has actually applied for providing security muscle to the neta. For now, Netha appears to be learning quickly that being a neta among toughies is a different game.

With contributions from L. Venkat Ram Reddy, N. Vamsi Srinivas, Pillalamarri Srinivas, P. Srinivas, Puli Sharath Kumar