Return to semblance of governance
The lifting of model code of conduct for elections from Monday will hopefully bring life in administration as work in government offices had otherwise crippled for more than two-and-a-half months. If one went to a tahsildar office seeking enrolment for issue of old age or any other pension, the standard reply from the officials was “come on May 27 when the code is lifted”. The code was a deterrent even in appointment of officers at top places. Take the case of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation where the posts of the managing director and three executive directors were vacant for more than a year. In these circumstances, the government appointed a 10-member expert committee to suggest ways to infuse financial health in the loss making corporation. The mandate for the panel was to submit report in three months but it is clueless about the strategies proposed to be adopted by the corporation in the absence of the managing director and fullfledged board of directors.
Bonhomie raises hopes among officials
The officials engaged in addressing issues related to State reorganisation appeared to heave a sigh of relief after the first meeting of the Chief Ministers of Telangana and AP on Saturday.
The reason, the meeting among other things decided to resolve the pending disputes between the two States as early as possible. The vexatious issues relating to apportionment of assets and liabilities between the two States had been draining the officials for the past more than four years what with the regular preparation of notes along with the detailed contention on behalf of the Telangana government every time a meeting between the two States had been convened. A majority of these meetings in fact did not take place due to various reasons leaving them high and dry.
With the two chief ministers deciding to convene a meeting of senior officials soon, they definitely have a reason to cheer.
The two States will hopefully adopt give and take approach as and when such meeting is convened.
From brickbats to bouquets
The saying that there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics has been proved once again when Chief Minister-elect of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy met Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family members at Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence-cum-camp office of the latter, on Saturday with exchange of warm pleasantries and camaraderie. It was exactly around the same time, in the last week of May, nine years ago there was a pitched battle between the supporters of the movement for separate statehood to Telangana led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) headed by Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and the supporters of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy at Mahabubabad in the erstwhile Warangal district, when the YSR Congress chief was on his way to the town as part of his ‘odarpu yatra’. Following clashes between the two sides, the police stopped Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy at Vangapalli station from proceeding further, arrested him and sent him back to Hyderabad.
Cut to 2019, the YSR Congress chief in the capacity of CM-elect was welcomed with all warmth by Mr. Rao and his family members to the very premises where Mr. Reddy was a resident when his late father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
(N. Rahul, M. Rajeev and B. Chandrashekhar)