Carrying on the legacy of being the ‘Grand Old Party’ for Congress leaders is no mean task. But it appears that for one leader from the Congress, that traces its lineage back to the British Raj, the legacy has turned into a literal reality. Such has been the impact of the presence in Hyderabad of AICC in-charge for Telangana Deepa Dasmunsi that she is now being referred to as the ‘Viceroy’, the British official of yore who represented the Crown in India, and controlled all political and economic power of the British empire in the country. The Congress ‘Viceroy’ in Hyderabad — unlike her predecessors who would fly in and out as was warranted — has more or less settled in the city and the party is said to be feeling the strain of taking care of the ‘new royal’. With the Congress in power, the local police have been extending the ‘courtesy’ of a convoy for her forays into the city from the villa where she has been lodged by the party. Amidst some ministers dropping not so veiled hints that Dasmunsi is taking undue interest in their official matters, the chorus that the ‘Viceroy’ be given a grand farewell is rising within the ranks of the Congress JAYESH RANJAN FEELS THE CONGRESS HEAT In a twist worthy of a political thriller, Telangana’s long-standing IT and industries secretary Jayesh Ranjan is back in the headlines — and not for the reasons he might have hoped. Once hailed as the lynchpin of the state’s IT growth, Jayesh now finds himself at the center of a simmering vigilance inquiry over alleged procurement irregularities – enough to leave even the most seasoned bureaucrats squirming – that have rocked the foundations of the new grandiose Secretariat. The story began during the previous BRS regime, when an initial budget of ₹181 crore for IT infrastructure for the Secretariat ballooned into a staggering ₹361 crore. The spiralling costs set off alarm bells, and none are louder than the ones ringing around Jayesh, who, as the then IT secretary, oversaw the process. The allegations? Violation of tender norms, cronyism and orchestrating deals that benefited a select few companies at eye-popping rates. Once the Congress government took over, the investigation gathered steam and, adding to the drama, Jayesh’s alleged close ties to BRS’ stalwarts KCR and KTR have been called into question. His long tenure — unusual in a landscape where political winds blow fiercely — has only fuelled speculation that his survival in the role was more about connections. Appointed in 2015, Jayesh had been an untouchable force in Telangana’s IT sector, seamlessly gliding through political shifts. But with the Congress government tightening its grip, it appears his once-glittering career is now on shaky ground. The vigilance probe is digging deep into whether the senior bureaucrat used his position to manipulate tender processes, leading to a sweetheart deal for a select few at public expense. HYDRAA OFFICERS FEAR KARMA In a city where demolition drives have become a daily routine with HYDRAA making waves, the Revanth Reddy government, in its all-new bid to clear encroachments on lakes and nalas, has granted the agency legal sanctity and special powers, somewhat like giving the entity a “superhero licence”. As part of this, the government has sanctioned 169 posts for HYDRAA, ranging from additional commissioners to a mini-army of constables, fire officers and engineers. On paper, it looks like HYDRAA is all set to rock. But the real drama is happening behind the scenes. It seems that while the public has been busy watching bulldozers plow through homes, lakes and dreams, some government officials are making their own daring escape plans. Rumour has it that a deputation to HYDRAA is now a fate worse than being buried under one of those soon-to-be-demolished illegal constructions. Whispers in the corridors of power say that HYDRAA-bound officials are running to everyone with clout — from the Chief Minister to Congress MLAs — pleading not to be dispatched to the ever-controversial agency. Apparently, it’s not the dust and debris they’re afraid of, but the mounting pressure, public ire and viral videos featuring heartbroken homeowners cursing the demolition squads with divine retribution. Some officials headed for HYDRAA are terrified that they might face divine justice after being cursed by middle-class and poor families whose homes have to be torn down. One insider claimed, “When you have a dozen people crying on camera, saying that God will punish you and your family, it kind of gets to you.” For those hoping to spend their tenure filing paperwork or sipping tea in quiet government offices, HYDRAA seems more like an unwanted reality TV show assignment—with a starring role as Public Enemy No. 1.LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS TURN DRAMATIC The local bodies’ elections may still be some way away but that has not stopped those aspiring to become sarpanches, municipal councilors and chairpersons from getting into some early marketing of themselves. In Nizamabad, posters and banners have been popping up with various sundry organisations hailing such candidates, even as some of those hoping to be in the fray have already begun hosting parties and dinners for influential groups and people including youth clubs, women’s organisations and village development committees. For good measure, the would-be candidates are also getting ‘felicitated’ with the word doing the rounds saying that these events were self-organised with the individuals footing the bills for everything including the shawls that are draped over their shoulders. BABUS MADE “DEADLY” BLUNDER Drafting orders is a skill that appears to be fast diminishing among officials if a recent government order is anything to go by. Typically, GOs are like the edicts of yore, that must be followed and every word in such orders matters. But the one related to observing the death anniversary of the popular ‘Kaka’ G. Venkataswamy, a former Union minister, has left several red faces in the bureaucracy. The order was to declare December 22, the day Venkataswamy passed away, as a ‘state function’, with instructions for taking ‘necessary further action’. But then, instead of calling for observing the day in memory of the leader, it said, “government have decided to celebrate (sic) Death Anniversary (Vardhanti)”… and so on, raising many eyebrows and showing the carelessness of officials drafting the order. BRS HINTS AT ITS OWN RED BOOK Is a ‘Red Book’ on the cards for Telangana? Like the ones bandied about by TD leaders in the run-up to the elections in Andhra Pradesh, declaring that the wrongdoings of YSRC leaders were being noted down in them? The other day, BRS MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao hinted at as much when he warned Telangana police officials to observe what was happening to police officials who overstepped their duties in AP. With the BRS saying it will return to power in Telangana, the party is said to be of the view – maybe it is never too early to keep tabs on those who deserve some ‘attention’ later. DASARA PLANNING UNDERWAY FOR POLITICOS Come Dasara and in Telangana, it is time for Bathukamma saris, a concept popularised by the BRS when in power. But it is not always the government that keeps the ball rolling. One such individual who has kept up tradition is Congress MLA from Mancherial Kokkirala Premsagar Rao, who has been distributing Bathukamma saris for the last eight years in memory of his father, the late Kokkirala Raghupathi Rao. Every year, one lakh Bathukamma saris are distributed to women from economically backward families in his constituency by the MLA through a trust that he has set up. Though not an easy task, the Congress MLA has been at it before the BRS government launched a similar scheme, and this year too, with Dasara just round the corner, the latest edition of this exercise by the MLA has started. TIRUPATI LADDUS STILL WHIPPING UP A STORM Amid the row over Tirumala laddus that is refusing to simmer down, with the TD and the YSRC going at each other over the issue, the silence of YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s reported devout soldier Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy has perplexed the opposition party leadership and cadre. This silence is being viewed with a lot of suspicion, particularly because Bhaskar Reddy was a government whip, Tirupati Urban Development Authority (Tuda) chairman and TTD ex-officio member when Jagan’s party was in power. He even managed to get his son Mohith Reddy to become the youngest Tuda chairman, which automatically manoeuvres into an ex-officio TTD role. Bhaskar Reddy’s silence is baffling for the opposition party, as he is also a former member of the TTD purchase committee that approved the ghee purchase for the prasadam. TAMMINENI BLAMES COWS FOR THE LADDU ADULTERATION Many politicians are finding navigating through the Tirumala laddu controversy a tough task but, for former AP Speaker Tammineni Sitaram, the answer to the entire controversy of the quality of the ghee used to make the laddus could be simple. His suggestion the other day was that instead of looking at the ghee itself, the focus should be on what the cows, from whose milk the ghee was made, were fed. He implied that the ghee might be derived from the milk of undernourished cows or from cows that consumed mustard, castor oil and palm oil cakes. Irrespective of the merits of his comments, what Tammineni said is making furious rounds on social media in AP. Contributions from N. Vamsi Srinivas, Aruna, Neeraj Kumar, Avinash P. Subramanyam, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Narender Pulloor, G. Ram Mohan and Pillalamarri Srinivas.
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