It is not uncommon to see Ministers, MLAs and officials engaging themselves in civic work like sweeping while launching programmes related to them.
But officials who followed the tradition during the Palle Pragathi programme, envisioning improvement of village level infrastructure, were in for surprise.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao took objections to the Ministers and officials posing for photographs while participating in the programme.
Ministers, MLAs and officials were not there to sweep the roads themselves and there are people designated to do the job.
The government is paying salaries for staff recruited for the purpose and it is the responsibility of the Ministers and officials to ensure that they discharge their duties effectively, he said.
By saying so at a review meeting the other day, the Chief Minister sent out a strong message for the Ministers and officials to effectively monitor the implementation of the work rather than “namesake” participation in the programmes launched for larger public good.
Caught on the wrong foot
The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is caught on a wrong foot by the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the matter of elections to Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies (PACS) as the former has been tight-lipped on the conduct of elections to the existing number of societies in a hurry, instead of taking up their reorganisation as planned earlier.
“The ruling party has been repeatedly requesting the Centre to sanction more Navodaya Schools, more Kendriya Vidyalayas, more Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in tune with the increased number of districts in the State following reorganisation of districts in October 2016. However, its silence on the reorganisation of PACS is smacking political opportunism,” BJP State vice president S. Malla Reddy alleged.
From the political perspective, the cooperative elections hold not much significance to the ruling since it has most of the elected bodies from village to State level – gram panchayats (though held on non-party basis), mandal parishads, zilla parishads, municipal councils, municipal corporations, besides the Legislative Assembly and Council, yet the conduct of cooperative polls in such a hurry is raising eyebrows!
Nominations of top contenders rejected
The election to Telangana Olympic Association has taken a curious turn after the returning officer rejected the nominations of a senior IAS officer and a former TRS MP who is now in the BJP for the post of president. The elections are due for February 9 but the supporters of both candidates have threatened to stall the polls.
Interestingly, three nominations were filed for the post of president but two were rejected and the third candidate left in the fray was none other than the president of a parallel olympic association who merged his group with the association now going to polls.
To add to the confusion, the returning officer himself was replaced. The nomination of the IAS officer was rejected reportedly on grounds that he had not got clearance from concerned authority to contest poll.
M. Rajeev, N. Rahul &
B. Chandrashekhar