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Will Lord Balaji Save The Babu

Will Lord Balaji Save The Babu

posted on May 23, 2011 @ 4:57PM

It is not new for the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams to be in news for one reason or the other. Right from the common man to VVIPs and IAS Babus, all have immense faith in Lord Balaji. Everyone wants to be near the Lord and serve him. Not to be left behind, 1983 batch IAS officer L V Subramaniam also wants to serve the Lord Balaji and for that he wants to become the Executive Officer of TTD.

Nothing wrong in it, may Lord Balaji bless him with that post! But some babus are arguing that Subramaniam's name figures in the Volkswagen scam, still being investigated by the CBI. What will happen if the investigation agency comes calling on him when he is on religious duty as in-charge of the richest temple in the country? They contend that it would be rather very embarrassing for the whole babu community. And the grapevine is that the chances of CBI landing at LV Subrahmaniam's door is imminent.

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Chiranjeevi Keen on Getting Minister Post For Thota

Rajya Sabha member Chiranjeevi is very keen on getting minister post to Ramachandrapuram MLA Thota Trimurthulu, is the buzz going on in the political circles. It is to be recalled the Congress could bag only two assembly seats out of 18 in the recent bypolls. Trimurthulu and Kotthapalli Subbarayudu are the two Congressmen who emerged victorious in the bypolls. Incidentally, both of them belong to the same community to which Chiranjeevi belongs. According to sources, Chiranjeevi is trying to get Trimurthulu accommodated in the state cabinet. As Excise Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana resigned and is in jail at present, Education Minister Pardhasaradhi is holding additional charge of the excise ministry. Chiranjeevi wants to get excise portfolio for Trimurthulu and it wouldn't be difficult for him, going by the position Chiranjeevi has in Congress now. The only thing that is coming in his way is Trimurthulu's past record of pending criminal cases. People might have forgotten the 1997 sensational case against Trimurthulu of tonsuring of a dalit youth, but the recent land dispute is still fresh in their minds. Reliable sources inform that the government, in a bid to oblige Chiranjeevi, has discreetly withdrawn the land dispute case against Trimurthulu and a G.O. to this effect has already been issued.  

Former Assembly Speaker Suresh Reddy to Join YSRCP?

Former Assembly Speaker KR Suresh Reddy may join the YSR Congress Party soon, say the sources. Lately, nothing much has been heard about Suresh Reddy, since he lost election from Armoor seat in 2009. Now all of a sudden his name pops up as one of the probables to switch over to YSRCP. Going by Suresh Reddy's illustrious track record as an honest politician, everone expected that he would be accomodated in some post by the Congress party after he lost the election. In fact, he even tried his hand at becoming an MLC. In spite of his proximity to chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, for reasons not known, was not chosen for the MLC candidature. This could have been one of the reasons for him to opt for the probable switch-over. Another reason, say the sources, that Suresh Reddy and Nellore YSRCP MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy are closely related. Mekapati's niece got married to one of the brothers of Suresh Reddy. Moreover, Suresh Reddy and late YS Rajasekhar Reddy's relations were very cordial and close. The recent victory of Mekapati from Nellore with a record majority also has a part in bringing them further close. Above all, callousness of state Congress leadership in ignoring an illustrious person like him has prompted him to take decision to leave the party.

Was CBI Special Director Hyderabad Visit Just Routine?

Just after the CBI Hyderabad JD Laxminarayana's call list episode, CBI special director Vineet K Gupta visted Hyderabad. Though it was said that the special director's visit was merely a routine excercise, speculations are rife that it is in someway connected to the exposure of JD's call list by the YSR Congress Party. On the outset, the special director is said to have discussed with the joint director V V Lakshminarayana and other officers on the progress of various cases, particularly the cases registered against illegal mining, Emaar-APIIC land scam, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s disproportionate assets and Shaik Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Reportedly the special director while expressing satisfaction over the progress in the three cases, expressed displeasure over lack of progress in tracing out former naxalite Nayeemuddin in connection with the Sohrabuddin encounter case. Gupta is learnt to have directed Laxminarayana to seek complete cooperation of the state police machinery in tracing Nayeemuddin. Curiously, a section of political observers are of the opinion that special director Gupta's visit immediately after the call list exposure wasn't just routine as publicised, but it was intended by the Delhi bosses to take stock of the situation that arose out of the exposure.   

Old Meddling Habits of Cops Die-hard!

As a top cop, it might have been part of his duty to meddle with the things going on around him. But his habit of meddling is still continuing after retirement also! Given to his penchant for landing in controversy, it is not at all surprising that a former director general of police is taking 'interest' in the appointment of the new chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh. Grapevine is that this die-hard meddler is lobbying for certain candidates and also against some others for the chief secretary post. A few weeks earlier, this former cop was taking an active interest in the selection of a new director general of police. However, it seems he was backing a wrong horse because somebody else became the top cop. Albeit, the unrelenting cop is continuing to meddle with the affairs of the state undeterred.  

Reddy Duo May Turn Approvers

Not strange that everyone wants to desert a sinking ship. It is happening with Jagan Mohan Reddy also. If sources are to be believed, the 'Reddy-duo' - CMDs of two pharma majors in the state, said to be very close to Jagan, are all set to turn approvers in the CBI levelled cases against Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The Reddys, who hogged limelight right from the days of YSR and expanded their businesses beyond compare in the company of Jagan Mohan Reddy are said to be a prize catch for the investigating agency. The Reddys, it is said, chose to turn approvers for the sole reason that they were caught indulging in unethical practices in their respective pharmaceutical businesses.

Jagan ika Jailukenaa!

Jagan chuttu ucchu bigusukundane antunnaru andaru! Jailu tappadani kooda antunnaru! It is alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy has amassed huge illegal wealth in the name of 'Business' during the tenure of his father late YS Rajasekhar Reddy as the chief minister. Minister Shankar Rao and two others have filed a PIL in the High Court against Jagan alleging large scale corruption. On a directive of the court, the CBI registered a case and has started conducting raids on Jagan and his alleged associates' companies.   During its probe, the CBI dug out the truth that Jagan along with several associate companies have robbed the State to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. In this process, the CBI registered a case under sections 13D, 13E, 120B, 409, 420, 477A and are tightening their noose. All these sections are non-bailable. Significantly, under sections 13D and 13E, if anybody who is in power and if he amasses wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income and fails to show relevant accounts, he is liable to be prosecuted and none of these sections are bailable.   According to political observers, the Congress high command seems to be bent upon putting an end to Jagan's much glorified political career. Definitely the CBI raids being conducted on the offices of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will dent his image and demoralise his party. As in the case of Satyam Ramalinga Raju, who didn't get bail so far, Jagan too may face the same situation and won't be in a position to bounce back.

Sarasaala Sagar ki Saradaa Theerindi

IAS officer Vidya Sagar, who is working as principal secretary in the AP Social Welfare Department, befriended a woman named Vatsala some six years ago. Later their friendship developed in to intimate relationship. Vidya Sagar has a 20 acre farmhouse at his native place in Prakasam district. He got a house constructed in it and put up Vatsala there. The couple happily carried on with their affair happily and unnoticed for about four years, when Sagar's wife Ratna Prabha came to know about it. Ratna Prabha got the farmhouse building demolished and drove Vatsala out of it. Even Sagar started avoiding Vatsala who started blackmailing him. A deceived Vatsala had to lodge a complaint with the police against Sagar and Ratna Prabha but things didn't work out. Now the entire episode took an interesting turn with the intervention of CCS police who instead of reprimanding Sagar and Ratna Prabha, put Vatsala behind the bars much to the huge relief of sarasaala Sagar!  

Retired Cop Among Probables For New DGP Post

It's quite quizzical to find a retired cop's name in the list of probables for new DGP post! The murky politics of Andhra Pradesh police has been making news for a long time, ever since the governments of the day started superseding officers and appointing police chiefs on criteria other than merit. The legal challenge by superseded cops have also been ignored by the government what with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which hears such petitions being rather slow to come up with their orders. However, this time the CAT not only quashed the posting of director general, but also asked the government to send a list of six senior cops to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The new DGP will be selected from a panel of three to be selected by the UPSC from among these six names. So far so good, but the CAT has identified the six officers whose name has to be forwarded. This includes the name of a cop who retired a few months ago! It is not clear whether the inclusion of a superannuated cop is part of some legalistic interpretation by the CAT or a case of plain oversight. Many cops say that had it not been a tribunal headed by a retired justice of a high court, they would have smelt a deliberate attempt to scuttle the chances of a strong contender. By the inclusion of the retired cop's name, strong contender Dinesh Reddy's name has got pushed out. If retired cop Alok Srivastava's name was not included, Dinesh Reddy (being the next senior-most cop) would have been in the consideration list for the top post. So has a fair chance been denied to Dinesh Reddy?

Case Against Rosaiah is Strong

The case against former chief minister K Rosaiah is said to be very strong. It is well known that, a case related to de-notification of 9.14 acres of prime land in Ameerpet was booked against K Rosaiah, soon after he relinquished the post of CM. The land, which was initially assigned for a government building, was de-notified by the then CM Rosaiah garu in favour of some private individuals. The grapevine is that the advocate general Sudershan Reddy had briefed chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy last week that it will be very difficult for the state government to defend Rosaiah garu in the case booked against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. After perusing the records, it turned out that IAS officer C V S K Sarma, then principal secretary in the CMO, had approved the file and guided the then chief minister. Thanks to this advice, Rosaiah did not even consult the cabinet and cleared the file. The advocate general is said to have told the chief minister Kiran Kumar that the case is very strong and it would be difficult for the government to defend Mr. Rosaiah.

SSP Yadav YSR Loyalty Intact

Retired director general of police SSP Yadav's loyalty towards YSR family is still intact. And he is very keen to show it also. A few days ago, the retired officer hosted a dinner for Kamal Kishore Singh, a 1996 batch IPS officer belonging to the Bihar cadre and who has been posted as a central observer for the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly bypolls slated for May 8. As per sources, Yadav introduced a few senior activists of YSR Congress floated by the former CM’s son Jaganmohan Reddy to the visiting cop. The Bihari officer, who is presently working as DIG, CID, Patna, was also explained in detail by Yadav about how much YSR has done for the state.  While some political observers say that this is an attempt by SSP Yadav to influence a central observer in favour of a certain political party ahead of the bypolls, others doesn't agree with this and say that there is no other intention on part of Yadav,  than hosting a dinner to a fellow officer hailing from his native state.