NETA NATTER | TOP COP NOW BUSY WITH BUSES

There was a time when he could do no wrong. For senior cop V.C. Sajjanar, who, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is learnt to have made up his mind to retain as TSRTC managing director, this position is now expected to be a tough tight-rope walk, especially with free rides for women in RTC buses in force. Sajjanar has to deal with the increased mad rush for buses and also ensure there are enough of them on the streets to meet the demand from women passengers. Any hopes of returning to being a cop that Sajjanar had were dashed in the recent reshuffle that saw C.V. Anand being made head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Shika Goel heading the Criminal Investigation Department, and K. Sreenivasa Reddy becoming Hyderabad’s kotwal. So now, Sajjanar has to juggle bus schedules, ensure men get to board buses amidst increased demand from women, and associated challenges.

IAS BABU FACED WITH CRITICISING HIS OWN WORK?

Politicians come, politicians go, but babus stay on forever. Being permanent fixtures in the government, many babus hone the skills of surviving their transient political masters. And, at times, like actors playing a double role — that of a hero and a villain — some babus show how quickly they can do the switcheroo. Take the case of Special Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, a blue-eyed boy of former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and who ran the state’s finances during the BRS’ rule. Now, with the Congress government tearing the BRS’ financial management to shreds, and in full public view in the Assembly, Ramakrishna Rao must be squirming in his seat. After what he did during the BRS regime, now the man has to sign off on documents saying how bad the BRS government’s financial management was. While his past work got slammed by the government of the day, the same work received fulsome praise from the BRS, which used figures provided in the past by Ramakrishna Rao to say how wonderfully well the state finances were managed.

SUREKHA UNSURE OF WHAT TO SAY

Minister Konda Surekha scored a self goal the other day in a discussion on the White Paper on the Telangana state. While trying to find fault with the BRS government for demolishing buildings that were in good condition and constructing new ones with an eye on earning commissions, she said the Central jail in the heart of Warangal was such a victim where a hospital is being built, which she said, could have been built outside the city. When it was pointed out that the hospital should be in the city, she tried a quick cover-up saying that had the hospital been built outside the city, the environment there would have been healthier.

MASSIVE RESHUFFLE ON THE CARDS FOR AP

It is the season for sour grapes in Andhra Pradesh with YSRC president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in a mood to juggle his party candidates for the Assembly elections, which is seeing some MLAs, and even ministers falling by the wayside and new ones getting a toe into the bigger political arena. This has resulted in many YSRC MLAs developing a “short-fuse condition”, resulting in them losing patience very quickly. Though Jagan had given all his party MLAs a year to improve their performance, many apparently failed to do so and are now being shown the door. Such leaders include Prathipadu MLA Parvatha Purnchandra Prasad who has stopped meeting party cadres, Jaggampet MLA Jyothula Chantibabu who is said to be coping with a huge sense of disappointment, and BC welfare minister Ch. Srinivasa Venu Gopalakrishna who too is among those out of the contest. Amidst all this doom and gloom, transport minister Pinepe Viswaroop appears to have managed something for his family with his son Srikanth being promised a ticket.

LOKESH — THE NEW POWER STAR IN TOWN?

It’s not easy being Pawan Kalyan. The superstar movie actor has not been able to make any mark in electoral politics and now with his Jana Sena entering an alliance with the Telugu Desam for the coming Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, some folks appear to have decided to give the outfit a new name, calling it Chandrasena party. Not stopping there, wags are happily going around saying TD supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh is the new ‘Power Star’, a title so far reserved for Pawan Kalyan. Movie director Ram Gopal Varma’s tweets on this matter have found some resonance and the new names are fast catching up, if the political back and forths are anything to go by.