NETA NATTER | VENDETTA BOOKS FLOURISHING IN STATE
Never judge a book by its cover, as the adage goes. First it was Telugu Desam leader Nara Lokesh who on multiple occasions displayed a ‘Red Book’ — a notebook with a red cover —announcing that it contained a list of officials from AP cutting across departments who went out of their way to please the then chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy by harassing TD leaders and workers, and warned that once the TD is back in power, those in the Red Book list will be taken to task. Apparently inspired by Lokesh, BRS MLA Padi Koushik Reddy in Telangana has now started displaying a ‘Black Book’, claiming to have noted minister Ponnam Prabhakar’s name in it alleging the minister’s involvement in an alleged fly ash scam in Karimnagar. Kaushik challenged Ponnam to come to a temple in Jubilee Hills and take oath in front of God that he had not indulged in the fly ash scam. But he was stopped on his way to the temple and an angry Kaushik said he documented the minister’s name and that of others in his Black Book, vowing action after the BRS returns to power in 2028.
IAS BABUS TIZZY WITH TRANSFERS
Two officers who were conferred with IAS status by the previous BRS regime and who held key positions in the BRS government were kept in the “loop” by transferring them to insignificant posts, soon after the Congress came to power in Telangana. But within six months, both the officials were back in key positions. In a major reshuffle of IAS officers the other day, IAS officers E. Venkat Narsimha Reddy, and Korem Ashok Reddy, were appointed as director of school education and managing director of HMWSSB respectively. While Narasimha Reddy served as VC&MD of TSIIC for almost nine years, Ashok Reddy served as commissioner of I&PR department during the BRS regime. The Congress government transferred Narasimha Reddy as director, tribal welfare and Ashok Reddy as director, horticulture, soon after coming to power in December. But within six months, both returned to key positions triggering speculations that their “caste” could have played a key role in “boss” changing his mind.
POLAVARAM BOSS HAS EVERYONE LAUGHING
The Polavaram project is all over the headlines these days in Andhra Pradesh, and a recent comment by former minister for water resources Ambati Rambabu has caused quite a stir. The man said that since it was a very, very complicated project and cannot be understood easily, and he was saying this from experience, leading to Rambabu facing some criticism for his comments. And Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, during his presentation on the project, to demonstrate just how little the YSRC government understood the project, played a clip of Rambabu’s comment. With Naidu laughing at the comment as the clip was played, officials at the meeting — several of whom likely kow-towed to Rambabu when he was the minister — where Naidu released a white paper on Polavaram, joined him laughing at their former boss.
TD-JANA SENA INFIGHTING?
Getting a plum post, particularly that of a minister, is clearly not an easy task, as the MLA from Bheemli in AP, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, appears to have realised. According to Srinivasa Rao’s friends, he was hoping to land a spot in Naidu’s Cabinet, but that did not happen. The disappointment is believed to have resulted in Srinivasa Rao’s comments on the buildings atop Rushikonda hills, with his words apparently causing hurt to Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, an episode that resulted in TD leader Nara Lokesh having to apologise to JS chief. Though Srinivasa Rao was asked to behave, a week later his supporters vandalised the name board at Vizag Filmnagar Cultural Centre, further upsetting the Jana Sena, resulting in an even more severe rebuke from the TD leadership.
BATTLE FOR STATE BJP PREZ BEGINS
Who will lead the further blooming of BJP’s Lotus in Telangana is a question that is doing the rounds currently in the party circles in undivided Nizamabad district. Two party leaders are reportedly in the race for the position of state BJP president with one of them being giant killer K. Venkataramana Reddy who defeated BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao in Kamareddy in the Assembly elections. The other is Arvind Dharmapuri, the party MP from Nizamabad. While Reddy is learnt to have been making his case with the party leadership in Delhi, Arvind’s supporters too say that their leader stands a good chance of getting the job. And if he does, then it would be a first of sorts for the district with two from the same family heading two different parties in the state, as Arvind’s father, D. Srinivas — who passed away on Saturday — was the state Congress chief earlier. And with the Congress, B. Mahesh Kumar Goud’s supporters are hoping that he would be made the TPCC chief. Again it would be first if state leaders of two major parties emerge from the same district.
PEDIREDDY LICKS HIS ELECTORAL WOUNDS
Former minister in the YSRC government in Andhra Pradesh, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy from Punganur constituency has suddenly found himself at a loss. Once considered invincible in Punganur and influential throughout Chittoor district, Reddy now finds himself unable to enter his own constituency following the 2024 election results. After wielding unchallenged authority during the YSRC rule, and his claim of defeating TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in Kuppam constituency falling flat, and Ramachandra Reddy just about managing to win again from Punganur with a slim margin of 6,619 votes, the former YSRC minister is said to have decided to lie low for now.
Contributions from Avinash P. Subramanyam, Narender Pulloor, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Aruna, Sampat G. Samritan