‘First things first’ may be a good management dictum; yet ‘first things best’ is what remains vivid in memory when it comes to one’s first job, first posting, first salary, first love, first night, first posting and the like. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao took Finance Secretary Ramakrishna Rao on a nostalgic trip during the Gadwal Collectorate inaugural, perhaps to assuage the hard feelings of the senior, accomplished babu who had missed the post of Chief Secretary by a whisker. KCR linked Ramakrishna Rao’s happiness to the Finance Secretary’s attachment to Gadwal. For newbies, Ramakrishna Rao’s first posting was Gadwal Sub Collector. “Give him a big hand, he has come with a special love for Gadwal,” the Chief Minister exhorted the assemblage, adding that Ramakrishna Rao had come to do a comparison between the Gadwal during his days as the Sub Collector vis-a-vis the transformed Gadwal now. “He is very happy,” the CM reasoned.
Sitting before the CM, CS for once
At times, protocols make way for ritualistic honours. It is impossible to find a Collector seated when the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary are around, and that too on their feet! At the inaugural of the swanky Collectorates, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao makes it a point to see for himself the Collector seated in his chair in the grand chambers. As part of Hindu rituals, the Collectors concerned piously occupy the chair. For shutterbugs, it appears as if the bureaucrats are dancing to the tune of the CM. A little bird told us that, though it might look as if officers are doing what the Chief Minister is telling them at the muhurat, when one looks at it objectively, which Collector elsewhere across the country gets an opportunity to remain seated while the respective Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary are standing nearby. This also triggered a discussion as to whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would countenance something like this with his officials.
Re-tyred not retired
CDMA N Satyanarayana is among the rarest of rare officials who have got a prestigious posting just before retirement. In general, ace IAS officers on the verge of retirement get new postings much after their superannuation. Satyanarayana got posting as RERA chief for five years and that too before his retirement. For newbies, Satyanarayana is due for retirement on June 30. Many babus had been aspiring for the coveted RERA chief post. What clinched the matter was perhaps Minister KT Rama Rao’s public statement some time back: “Satyanarayana garu is a great asset and a knowledgeable officer I know. He is aware of what’s happening across the country. He has a great sense of responsibility.” Recently his son’s marriage took place. He invited everyone including the CM. Looks like this posting is a gift for the new father-in-law.
What more credentials would anyone need to be the RERA chief.
Who is behind the lock?
Irate government employees reportedly locked up Minister Chelluboina Venugopalakrishna’s office in the AP Secretariat as they have not been getting salaries for six months now. Soon the breaking news about the heart-breaking fact spread like wildfire and there was an internal commotion. A promptly issued rejoinder read that the Minister’s Peshi had been locked as the officials were late and that those unaware of it had misinterpreted the situation. Firefighting done, now the real investigation has begun: Who is behind the scenes? Who gave the information? How come the camera was there at the right time? The key to the ‘locked-up’ mystery lies in answers to these dicey questions, though maximum damage has already been done to the government’s image by this episode.
Deputed to serve, but serving devotedly even after tenure
Officers on deputation, upon completion of their tenure, ought to return to their parent department unless otherwise posted elsewhere in the normal course of things. However, one senior IAS officer in Telangana has raised eyebrows by seemingly ‘managing’ Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Central powers that be. The reason is that the Andhra Pradesh cadre babu, upon completion of his two-year deputation period, did not go to his home state. Instead, he is keen on continuing official work in TS and is believed to be very close to TS Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He continues to be active in the Telangana Secretariat as usual. He is participating in every important government programme launched by KCR. His peers are surprised that the Central government, the Telangana government, and even the Andhra Pradesh government do not look askance at this. IAS circles are wondering about the source of power that drives this babu.
Saagar sa daya on Daya Sagar
Strange are the ways in bureaucracy when politics is at play. Retired IRS officer and husband of former AP Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita K Daya Sagar, who had been sidelined while in service, is back with a bang in AP following his appointment as the Managing Director of the Machilipatnam Port Development Corporation. Following a reshuffle of the AP state cabinet, when Sucharitha was stripped of her Home Minister post, she went on record along with her daughter that the government was not being kind to her despite her loyalty to the party leadership.
She went on to add that a few people in the ruling party were behind her husband getting transferred to Maharashtra even before he could complete one month’s service as Income Tax Commissioner in Vijayawada. Suddenly, showing saagar sa daya, the powers that be have handed a plum post to the officer who had retired from service in 2022.
