Amaravati: Pravin Prakash, the 1994 batch IAS official, who has been in the center of controversy for his own character within the unceremonious exit of afterwards Chief Secretary L.V. Subramanyam, is back in target again.
He’s appeared stricter this time within the previous rejig of assignments within the Chief Minsiter’s Workplace (CMO) in AP.
As Principal Secretary to the CM within the CMO, Pravin Prakash even outdid his own super Sr. Ajay Kallam, who has been appointed as the Advisor to the CM after his own retirement, within the race for the key assignments. Kallam, discussed to be a close confidante of Jaganmohan Reddy, as of now remained just an Advisor to CM without any subjects under his own curb.
In a previous order released within the name of Prakash himself, he was vested with almost all this key assignments like house, revenue, finance & scheduling, law & legislative affairs, CMO establishment & also the subjects relating to the Center-State relations.
Super power
Previously, Pravin, hailing from WP, has been the Citizen Commissioner in Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi(DL). He has been thereafter took to Amaravati on Sep 17, 2019 to hold the dual assignments—Principal Secretary to CM & the Principal Secretary (Political), Gen. Administration Dept. (GAD) as well–after Jaganmohan Reddy had come to power.
As the Principal Secretary to CM, Pravin in Nov, 2019 released transfer orders to L.V. Subramanyam, afterwards Chief Secretary in an unprecedented move. Therefore, he had become greatly debatable, drawing the flak from that IAS circles & even from that outdoor. Prior to LV’s transfer, Prakash, utilizing his own position within the CMO, allegedly shunted out K. Gurumurthy, Extra Secretary within the GAD without maintaining the Chief Secretary within the loop. As the head of the GAD’s political wing, Prakash has been in a bind over circulating the transfer file to the CS for sanction. Gurumurthy complained to the CS regarding the claimed scornful behavior of Praksh that led to his own transfer.
Powers without responsibility?
Previous Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao in that time expressed his own powerful resentment over Pravin Prakash holding the dual assignments as the Principal Secretary to the CM & the Principal Secretary to GAD (Political), informing the CMO is enjoying power without responsibility. Krishna Rao even registered a writ petition within the AP High Court seeking to amend the AP Secretariat Business Regulations, 2018 to make the officials within the CMO responsible in granting advices to the CM by way of maintaining their own note files for the report.
Jagan Mohan Reddy faced criticism from his own own party lawmakers on his own celebrating 1 yr. in workplace that he’s racing the administration with a coterie of officials about him. The CMO authorities are charged of being a stone wall for the ministers, lawmakers & party chiefs, refusing free accessibility to the CM. The rebel MP from Narasapuram K. Raghuramakrishna Raju of the governing party went on report multiple times informing he has been prevented by this authorities within the CMO from gathering the CM despite of having a prior appointment with him.
Within the Jagan Reddy’s rule the CMO, with half a dozen IAS officials, serving & retired, & a host of advisors, is reportedly racing a parallel administration, sometimes even bypassing multiple branches headed by Sr. IAS officials. The CMO has been created to help the CM. However over period of time had become a power center as a reflection of the CMs of the day with a proclivity to lessen their own Council of Ministers to figureheads.