Hyderabad: K Rosaiah on Friday completed 100
days as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at a time when the
state has been pushed into a political turmoil with agitations
for and against a unified state gaining pace in different
regions.
Rosaiah took over as Chief Minister on September 3
following the death of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter
crash the previous day.
The first ten days of Rosaiah`s stint went in mourning
for Rajasekhara Reddy and the next 40 days in political
uncertainty over his continuance as Chief Minister in the wake
of demand for anointing Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as the
successor to his late father.
Amidst this came the unprecedented floods in different
parts of the state that kept everyone engaged for more than 35
days.
Over the last 15 days, the Chief Minister has been
busy in fire-fighting over the Telangana issue and now the
integrated Andhra Pradesh movement that has gained momentum in
coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
Governance has become the biggest casualty in Andhra
Pradesh as the state has been moving from "one crisis to the
other" for over three months now.
"There is a crisis but its not so much crippling.
There is certainly an amount of slackness in the governance.
Lack of a strong leadership is obvious," said a Cabinet
minister.
Political observers and some leaders acknowledge that
Rosaiah, given his vast political experience, is an "able
administrator" but not an "able leader."
"There is inarguably a (political) leadership vacuum
in the state, caused by the death of Rajasekhara Reddy," the
minister said.
Bureaucrats point out that there has been a lack of
"cohesiveness" in the administration since Reddy`s death.
"Everything is happening in a routine fashion but
there is no guidance as such from the top on effectively
carrying the government programmes forward," said a district
Collector.
For much of these 100 days, the Chief Minister was
busy trying to make his cabinet colleagues fall in line and
get down to serious administrative business, as a majority of
them were jumping over each other to display their loyalty to
Jaganmohan Reddy.
The Chief Minister`s attempts to tone up the
administration through a bureaucratic shake-up did not
materialise for one reason or the other.
"This has also left the bureaucracy in a state of
despondency, leaving a telling impact on the administration,"
a high-ranking IAS officer said.
Political analyst Madabhushi Sridhar said governance
in the state has suffered not only during Rosaiah`s tenure but
also under the Congress in the last five years.
Sridhar said: "It is fortunate that Rosaiah has become
the Chief Minister of the state but it is unfortunate that he
has been kept in a condition of uncertainty for a longer
time."
On his 100th day in office, Rosaiah has been faced
with over 100 resignations (of MLAs), a mark of the political
crisis the state has plunged into, he said.
Added to all these is the grave financial crunch that
the state has been facing.
The state`s coffers have dried up and the government
is dragging the cart through borrowings from different
sources. All the major development projects have virtually
come to a standstill as the government is yet to pay
contractors.
Uncertainty prevails over welfare programmes as the
subsidy bill has become too much to bear for the government.
With the political crisis stirred by the resignation
of MLAs and MLCs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions likely to
continue for some more days and with no signs of the movements
for separate Telangana and unified Andhra Pradesh abating,
real governance will continue to be on the back burner till
then.
PTI
