Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy may be in the driver's seat in the
state but it is the Congress bosses in Delhi who will be the
remote control of his vehicle--the state government.
A clear set of do's and don'ts has been prescribed for
Kiran Kumar to steer the government in a way to strengthen
Congress in the state through strict implementation of the
schemes promised in the election manifesto, highly-placed
government sources said.
"It is only a move by the high command to strengthen the
Congress party in the state with trouble lurking in the form
of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Telangana. It is essentially to
let Kiran Kumar focus primarily on governance and not let
troubles from any quarter bog him down," a top Congress leader
and a key government functionary said.
Significantly, state Governor E S L Narasimhan is also
being actively involved in the governance to lend stability to
government.
According to sources, the Congress high command
reportedly issued certain "guidelines" to the ten-day-old
Chief Minister to be followed scrupulously.
As per the guidelines, the Chief Minister will have to
take any major policy decision only in consultation with the
Pradesh Congress Committee president.
The Chief Minister will have to tour at least two
districts every week to improve mass contact and closely
monitor implementation of government programmes.
While Kiran Kumar will have to submit a weekly
performance report to Governor Narasimhan and AICC President
Sonia Gandhi, the Governor will in turn forward the report to
the Union Home Secretary, according to the sources.
State Chief Secretary S V Prasad and Director General of
Police K Aravinda Rao have reportedly been directed to brief
the Governor every week on the government’s performance in
general and law and order in particular.
Review of law and order by the Governor assumes
significance as there is apprehension of trouble by
pro-Telangana elements after the five-member Justice
Srikrishna Committee submits its report to the Centre on the
statehood issue.
Sources said the Chief Minister has also been asked by
the Congress high command to have constant and close
co-ordination with the party’s manifesto implementation
committee.
This makes Kiran Kumar’s task tough as the Congress
government could not so far implement the three main promises
it had made in the 2009 manifesto: extending free power
to agriculture sector from seven to nine hours a day,
enhancing the Rs 2-a-kg rice quota from 20 to 30 kilos a
month to all below poverty line families and uninterrupted
power supply to all sectors.
While fund crunch did not allow the government to enhance
the rice quota to 30 kilos a month, the acute power scarcity
faced by the state forced it delay implementation of the other
two promises, the sources noted.
"We have sought Central assistance for the rice scheme but
there has been no response from them yet. We could not
generate additional electricity in tune with the growing
demand, because of which the promises related to power may not
be kept in the immediate future," a top government source
pointed out.
While these may be some worrying factors for the new
Chief Minister, he can take comfort in the Congress high
command’s assurance on party-related issues: look up to us for
any damage control.
That assurance should make Kiran Kumar feel comfortable
in the saddle.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, December 04, 2010, 21:40