Senior IAS officer Praveen Prakash, who was transferred to New Delhi as the principal resident commissioner (PRC) of Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi, is said to be still firm on retaining his post in the chief minister’s office.
Praveen Prakash, who had been holding the all-important post of the principal secretary in the CMO, took charge as the PRC of AP Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday.
But sources said he has been bringing pressure on chief secretary Sameer Sharma to continue in the post of the principal secretary in the CMO. He reportedly asserted that he would handle both the positions.
So far, chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has not appointed anybody as the new principal secretary in the CMO, lending credence to the reports that Praveen Prakash is still lobbying to retain the post.
It may be recalled that Jagan, on Monday, issued orders shifting Praveen Prakash to New Delhi, after the latter’s attempts to get a central deputation had failed. But having called the shots in the CMO, working in AP Bhavan was a sort of demotion for Praveen Prakash as it is a loop line post.
Hitherto, the post was held by his own wife Bhavana Saxena, who has now been transferred to the Union external affairs ministry as joint secretary, which is more prestigious than the AP Bhavan’s resident commissioner. So, it is a sort of insult for Praveen Prakash.
Praveen Prakash, a 1994-batch IAS officer, was brought back to Andhra Pradesh by Jagan soon after the latter came to power in 2019.
He has been serving as the principal secretary in CMO and is dictating terms to all the bureaucrats, even bypassing the orders of chief secretary.
Apparently, Jagan has been receiving a lot of complaints from the YSR Congress party MLAs and MPs against Praveen Prakash that he had been rejecting their requisitions for various works in their respective constituencies.
Several other IAS officers also reportedly complained to CM against Praveen Prakash.