Election time is a period when even best kept secrets don’t quite remain under wraps. Strategies, after all, can help make or break a party’s fortunes. Taking this matter seriously is the BJP in Telangana state, which is mulling a ban on media entry into its headquarters in Hyderabad. The party, which never fails to protest how its leaders are kept out of the Secretariat, or the CM’s camp office Pragati Bhavan, is taking a leaf out of its old playbook of keeping mediapersons away from its offices, at least till the polls are over. “We have done this in Gujarat, and in Delhi, and it works for us,” is the refrain of some party leaders worried that the increasing scrutiny of the party is possibly something it can do without for now. Different strokes for different folks as they say.
RETIRED UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE GIVEN KUDOS
Surprises hit, when they are least expected. Just ask Ravinder, a retired employee of Satavahana University, whose services were recognised as the Best Employee Award during the recent Independence Day celebrations in Karimnagar. Ravinder, received an appreciation certificate as the ‘Best Employee’ from backward classes welfare minister Gangula Kamalakar. This soon went viral, leading to some heartburn among current university employees, who believed they themselves deserved such an award. But it kindled hopes among the retired lot that what they did while in service still matters.
PARTIES FIGHT FOR GADDAR’S LEGACY
They blew hot and cold when he was around. After his demise, political parties have been quick to co-opt his legacy and claim that balladeer Gaddar was one of their own. Congress was quickly off the block to claim that Gaddar had joined senior party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on his padayatra. Even the police, who were at loggerheads with Gaddar for long because of his association with the Maoist party, turned a leaf. Recently, a senior police officer, recalled his decade long association with him, reiterating that Gaddar had evolved, and while he may have been a revolutionary, he had other facets. He was a poet and singer and had accepted democracy in his latter part of life. Gaddar may be no more in person, but his legacy is not going anywhere soon.
A CURIOUS CASE OF LAMBADA ALLOCATION
A quick sorry sometimes may do the trick after a mistake. Realising that he probably bit off more than he can chew, BRS MLA from Yellareddy, Jajala Surender, the other day apologised to the Lambada community for his request that Kaithi Lambadas (Madhura) — who are listed as BCs and different from the traditional Lambadas who are STs in the state — also be given Podu lands. After having talked about this in the Assembly session, Surender came under fire from ST Lambadas in his constituency, who were worried that their podu patta prospects might be hit. So ahead of BRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao’s visit to Yellareddy Assembly constituency, Surender was forced to tender an apology for highlighting the plight of Kaithi Lamabadas.
DON’T PLAY WITH VOTER LIST — IAS OFFICER LEARNS
What happens when an IAS officer falls foul of political power? He or she gets thrown on to a loop line, with the “what next” question hanging over them. Mahesh Kumar Ravirala, a young IAS officer of 2016 batch, who was removed as commissioner in Kakinada Municipal Corporation recently learnt the same. Word doing the rounds in official corridors is that he differed with powerful Kakinada MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhara Reddy, who was upset with Mahesh Kumar over the revision of voters list. The IAS officer was apparently exasperated with political demands and soon found himself out of Kakinada, and back in Amaravati, waiting for a new posting.
POLITICO SHIFTS BLAME ON TO FOREST
Does a leopard change its spots? Obviously not. Neither can politicians, irrespective of party or position. The recent incident of a young girl attacked by a leopard and killed on Tirumala hills brought to fore a debate on whether TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy has started taking right decisions. He first appeared to blame the forest on Seshachalam Hills for the leopard problem, saying that tree cover was practically non-existent when he was a child, apparently completely ignorant of how hard the TTD and forest department worked to spread green on the hills over decades. Blaming forest growth for an increase in wildlife, and not proactive measures by the TTD after an earlier incident involving another attack by a leopard on a small boy, has left many wondering if politicians are ever willing to take some responsibility for the posts they hold.
