AP
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu may be constrained to contest the
forthcoming assembly and parliamentary polls without the help of his
hand-picked officials who are facing a sustained campaign by YSRC leader Y.S.
Jagan Mohan Reddy. Following
Jagan's complaint, the Election Commission of India has already shunted out AP
Intelligence chief A.B. Venkateshwara Rao considered 'very close to Naidu'. Rao
was promoted as DGP before the code of conduct kicked in. The
EC has also transferred two others officers -superintendents of police Rahul
Dev Sharma of Kadapa and A. Venkat Ratnam of Srikakulam. The move by the
Election Commission came a day after a YSRC delegation led by its Rajya Sabha
MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy gave a detailed presentation to Chief Election
Commissioner Sunil Arora on Tuesday. Now,
YSRC leaders are focusing on removing Director General of Police R.P. Thakur
and a few other officials. As
per the procedure, in case the ECI decides to shift the DGP, names of the
senior-most officials will have to be sent from which the ECI will pick up one
officer based on his service and track record. Of
Thakur’s batchmates from 1986, V.S.K. Kaumudi is with the CRPF in Jammu and
Kashmir and D. Gautam Sawang is posted as DG, Vigilance and Enforcement.
Kaumudi is scheduled to retire in November 2022, Sawang in July 2023 and Ranjan
has just five months for retirement. Following
the transfer of Venkateswara Rao, the names of Vigilance and Enforcement DGP D.
Gautam Sawang, Vijayawada police commissioner D. Tirumala Rao and CID chief
Amit Garg were doing the rounds as replacements. Principal
secretary (home) A.R. Anuradha and Counter Intelligence wing SP Bhaskar Bhushan
are also said to be in Jagan's crosshairs. Though
the YSRC has often accused Thakur, a 1986 batch IPS officer, and Venkateswara
Rao of the 1989 batch, of acting like “TD agents†this is the first time that
the YSR Congress has meticulously prepared a detailed note and briefed the CEC
and his team of officials about the acts of omission and commission of CB
Naidu. The
YSRC documents presented to the ECI say that the DGP, whose appointment as the
state police chief is still irregular (not as per the guidelines of the Supreme
Court wherein the names of a panel of IPS officers is submitted to the Centre
out of which the UPSC picks up one officer for the top post) has been favoring
the state government by giving key postings/promotions to a particular caste,
which is to the advantage of the TD. “Both
the DGP and the Intelligence chief together have been posting people of one
particular caste in all key posts, mostly at the middle and lower levels to
ensure that all their people are there which will be advantageous during
elections. In some of the districts, changes were made in the last minute
before the code of conduct came into force,†the documents alleged. The
YSRC complaint cited examples of how, during the promotion of constables to
head constables and head constables to ASIs, the top brass held huge meetings
on police grounds where all those promoted were made to say “Jai ho Chandrababu
Naidu†and other similar slogans, amounted to politicizing the department.
CB Naidu faces ECI heat
By IndianMandarins - 2019-03-28 11:53:35
AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu may be constrained to contest the forthcoming assembly and parliamentary polls without the help of his hand-picked officials who are facing a sustained campaign by YSRC leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Following Jagan's complaint, the Election Commission of India has already shunted out AP Intelligence chief A.B. Venkateshwara Rao considered 'very close to Naidu'. Rao was promoted as DGP before the code of conduct kicked in.
The EC has also transferred two others officers -superintendents of police Rahul Dev Sharma of Kadapa and A. Venkat Ratnam of Srikakulam. The move by the Election Commission came a day after a YSRC delegation led by its Rajya Sabha MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy gave a detailed presentation to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Tuesday.
Now, YSRC leaders are focusing on removing Director General of Police R.P. Thakur and a few other officials.
As per the procedure, in case the ECI decides to shift the DGP, names of the senior-most officials will have to be sent from which the ECI will pick up one officer based on his service and track record.
Of Thakur’s batchmates from 1986, V.S.K. Kaumudi is with the CRPF in Jammu and Kashmir and D. Gautam Sawang is posted as DG, Vigilance and Enforcement. Kaumudi is scheduled to retire in November 2022, Sawang in July 2023 and Ranjan has just five months for retirement.
Following the transfer of Venkateswara Rao, the names of Vigilance and Enforcement DGP D. Gautam Sawang, Vijayawada police commissioner D. Tirumala Rao and CID chief Amit Garg were doing the rounds as replacements.
Principal secretary (home) A.R. Anuradha and Counter Intelligence wing SP Bhaskar Bhushan are also said to be in Jagan's crosshairs.
Though the YSRC has often accused Thakur, a 1986 batch IPS officer, and Venkateswara Rao of the 1989 batch, of acting like “TD agents†this is the first time that the YSR Congress has meticulously prepared a detailed note and briefed the CEC and his team of officials about the acts of omission and commission of CB Naidu.
The YSRC documents presented to the ECI say that the DGP, whose appointment as the state police chief is still irregular (not as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court wherein the names of a panel of IPS officers is submitted to the Centre out of which the UPSC picks up one officer for the top post) has been favoring the state government by giving key postings/promotions to a particular caste, which is to the advantage of the TD.
“Both the DGP and the Intelligence chief together have been posting people of one particular caste in all key posts, mostly at the middle and lower levels to ensure that all their people are there which will be advantageous during elections. In some of the districts, changes were made in the last minute before the code of conduct came into force,†the documents alleged.
The YSRC complaint cited examples of how, during the promotion of constables to head constables and head constables to ASIs, the top brass held huge meetings on police grounds where all those promoted were made to say “Jai ho Chandrababu Naidu†and other similar slogans, amounted to politicizing the department.
