Soap opera that unfolds in AP halls of power

The delicate dance of loyalty played often by officials and their relationships with the government of the day is like the sliding and gliding of waltz where sometimes they lead, and other times they step on each other’s toes.

Efficiency alone doesn’t guarantee immunity from the gravitational pull of political dynamics. Even the most efficient officials can find themselves doing an unexpected tango with the forces of bureaucracy, public opinion, and power plays. It’s like they’re balancing on a tightrope- often gracefully, and other times in the most ignominious way.

Isn’t it fascinating to find how the political narratives changed overnight in respect of two senior civil servants of Andhra Pradesh cadre with the change of guard in the State. Once hailed as heroes for streamlining the administrative processes, senior IAS officer Praveen Prakash and senior IPS officer PSR Anjaneyulu seem to be facing great deal of suffocation being caught in cross fire of political intrigue. Yes, it is like watching a soap opera unfold in the halls of power.

Praveen Prakash, who make his own mark during his stint in the tribal pockets of the undivided AP as a project officer of the ITDA, Bhadrachalam, was one among a notable few such as A Vidyasagar and G Asok Kumar still remembered by the tribal communities even decades after their eventful tenures. The tribal communities have many of the children named as Vidyasagar and Praveen Prakash with a sense of gratitude towards the services they rendered in the hotbed of Naxalites.

Having aligned with the mandate of the day in YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s regime, Praveen Prakash has paid a high price. The allegation is that he toed too much the line of the YSRCP bigwigs too seriously thus erasing the thin line between the official responsibility to be discharged and loyalty to the political bosses. Still left with seven years of service, Praveen Prakash has tendered his resignation and it was readily accepted by the government. He will cease to be in the government service with effect from September 30, 2024. PSR Anjaneyulu, 1992 IPS officer, who has served as the DGP intelligence has a splendid the track record in the stream of effective policing. It goes without saying that political intelligence is a special task entrusted only to an officer who is shrewd in collecting inputs that the government of the day needed. But it only helped in adding to his disdain. The present Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu develops so much discomfort with the presence of PSR that he is not in a position to see eye to eye with him and hence deferred appointment to him multiple times in less than one month.