Did a top cop force corporates to invest in electoral bonds?

Policing has nothing to do with political funding or electoral bonds. Or does it? Talk in police circles is that a senior officer who held a powerful position until recently, did not hesitate to call up some corporate bosses and gently twisted their arm to ensure they invest in electoral bonds. After the Congress came to power in the state, this officer was moved out and given an insignificant post. Perhaps, it is time top cops realise that their political masters are fickle and have limited shelf life. It is better to show a little spine and do the right thing once in a while.
Raj Bhavan post no longer a hot seat
No bureaucrat seems to be keen on the hot seat in the Telangana Raj Bhavan. First, secretary K Surendra Mohan asked to be moved out after Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned as governor. Now another officer, joint secretary CN Raghu Prasad, reportedly requested the govt to shift him to another post. He had been in the Raj Bhavan for more than four years. For the time being, principal secretary, education, Burra Venkatesham, has been given full additional charge as Raj Bhavan secretary. The buzz is that a full-time secretary may be appointed only after Lok Sabha polls. It will be interesting to see who takes up the job in this age of governors crossing swords with state govts with unnerving frequency.
Telangana BJP leaders pulled levers for AP alliance
If the BJP-TDP-Jana Sena alliance signed off on the seat-sharing arrangement in Andhra Pradesh recently, it was also because some BJP leaders from Telangana helped smoothen out the rough edges. A fly on the wall tells us that Rajya Saha MP K Laxman and Union minister Kishan Reddy played a key behind-thescenes role in stitching up the deal. But one can’t understand why the Telangana leaders must keep their role under wraps. Would voters in Telangana have shunned the duo had they worked for the alliance publicly? Unlikely.
Danam’s fate in speaker’s hands
BRS and Congress cadres in Khairatabad are curious to know Danam Nagender’s fate. He won the 2023 assembly election from Khairatabad and recently joined Congress, which nominated him from Secunderabad for the Lok Sabha battle. Now, BRS is going all out to ensure he either resigns his assembly membership or is disqualified as MLA. Some BRS supporters have also approached the high court. The rules say an MLA who wins an election on a party ticket and enters the electoral fray again on a different party’s ticket faces anti-defection law. But the talk in Congress circles is that it has done its homework before nominating Nagender. A senior leader said ultimately the ball will be in the court of the assembly speaker, who must take a call on disqualification. Even the Congress had approached the high court when 12 of its legislators had defected to the BRS in 2019 on the grounds that they had defected one by one, and none of them were disqualified. The 12 Congress MLAs later merged the CLP with BRSLP. Will Nagender resign as MLA or go ahead and contest Lok Sabha election with the issue pending with the speaker is the million-dollar question now.
Radio silence after Snoopgate shouting match
Many bureaucrats and businessmen in Telangana seem to have developed a fear of discussing even mildly sensitive matters on their phones these days. The reason is the phone tapping controversy regularly hitting the headlines. Many of them are even employing experts to find out if their phones have been bugged. Even WhatsApp calls are not safe, they feel. What this effectively means is that people now know the govt has the tools to eavesdrop on everyone. And there is no guarantee they will not use these tools once the latest controversy dies down.
Eavesdroppers on edge as probe takes serious turn
The Snoopgate row is giving sleepless nights to many in BRS. With investigators keeping the list of suspects close to their chests, there is much speculation on who will be called next for questioning. So far, investigators have not called political leaders, but it’s a matter of time that they knock on the doors of politicos. DCP (west) SM Vijay Kumar is personally supervising the investigation by being in the Banjara Hills police station till late night, and at times questioning the accused. If the new govt is so against snooping, it will not use the high-tech gadgets with the state intelligence bureau, right?
Revenue, non-revenue staff cold war hots up
There has always been an undercurrent of competition between revenue and nonrevenue department officials over postings. The main complaint against revenue department staffers by officers belonging to other departments is that even general department postings, such as municipal commissioners in important cities, other corporations and executive officers of major temples are given to them. The latest is the appointment of executive officer for Yadadri temple. The state govt appointed A Bhaskar Rao, a revenue department official who served as additional collector of YadadriBhongir, to the post. His predecessor, K Ramakrishna Rao, was shifted out over a protocol row. Some officials allege that an officer from the revenue department at the secretariat, who served as additional collector in a neighbouring district, was pushing his department officials in nonrevenue posts.
Poll eve sermon steals spotlight in Friday feast
The Fridays that fall in the fasting month of Ramzan have always assumed political significance as AIMIM and MBT address the Muslim community from Mecca Masjid after noon prayers. There used to be a tussle between the two for a slot on the last Friday, ‘Jumatul Vida’, however, AIMIM used to get the upper hand. With model code for the Lok Sabha election in force, the state govt has cancelled the ‘Youmul Quran’ slot of both parties on third and fourth Fridays. This has left MBT upset as AIMIM held it on the first Friday of the Ramzan month with Asaduddin Owaisi addressing the community a day before the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule.
TAILPIECEWhen leaders change colours faster than a chameleon
Immediately after BRS leader Kadiyam Kavya withdrew her candidature for the Warangal Lok Sabha seat, there were rumours about Maloth Kavitha, BRS candidate from Mahbubabad, quitting the party. But she declared she would continue to sail with BRS till her last breath. The reason for speculation was that she had not started campaigning at full steam in the constituency two weeks after her candidature was declared. Not surprisingly, the BRS leadership has asked all candidates to start campaigning immediately. But from what we hear, it is not just the rising mercury that is keeping many of them indoors. After all, this is the season to change colours so quickly that even chameleons are left behind.