As expected, several IAS officers of Andhra Pradesh, who were loyal to YSR Congress party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy have been shown the door, in a major reshuffle of as many as 19 bureaucrats on Wednesday.
Among those who were dropped from their prime positions are: Special Chief Secretaries – Y Srilakshmi, Rajat Bhargava, Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, Praveen Prakash and D Muralidhar Reddy.
Srilakshmi was considered to be a favourite officer of YSR and later Jagan. Like Jagan, she was implicated in a CBI case and jailed in Obulapuram mining case. After the bifurcation of combined state, she was allotted Telangana cadre, but after Jagan came to power in Andhra, she lobbied with the Centre for being shifted to Andhra Pradesh cadre.
Later, she got quick promotion as special chief secretary in the crucial municipal administration and urban development department. She was the mastermind behind dumping of Amaravati capital plan and projection of Visakhapatnam as the new capital.
Praveen Prakash, who called the shots in the CMO, was the eyes and ears for Jagan, before being shifted to the education department. Similarly, Rajat Bhargava was allegedly responsible for irregularities in the excise department.
Gopala Krishna Dwivedi, who was the chief electoral officer during the 2019 elections and created troubles for Naidu, was later posted in the panchayat raj and rural development, where he had played an important role in the YSRCP grabbing majority of rural local bodies.
Similarly, D Muralidhar Reddy was believed to be responsible for the controversy over distribution of pensions to the old and disabled during the model code of conduct in the recent assembly elections.
Naidu brought in his favourite IAS officer P S Pradyumna into the chief minister’s office as secretary. Several other IAS officers who were pushed into loopline during the Jagan regime have got prominent postings.