The sudden transfer of 13 IPS officers and 4 IAS officers from Telangana by the Election Commission of India (ECI) has raised questions about the state’s administration in the run up to the upcoming November 30 elections. According to reports, the ECI pulled up the officials over issues of not doing enough to curb inflow of money and liquor into the state. Last year’s Munugode by-poll which was touted as the one of the “costliest” by-elections by observers and there were reports of liquor sales going up ahead of the polls.
The ECI on October 11 ordered top officials in administration and the police in five poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana.
While ECI officials were tight-lipped about the issue and refused to comment, a senior state government official, who is coordinating with the poll body, said that there were apprehensions regarding their political bias towards the ruling dispensation in the state. Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand, Warangal Commissioner AV Ranganath, and Nizamabad Commissioner V Satyanarayana are among senior cops who were transferred from their positions.
Apart from them, 10 district Superintendents of Police (SP) have also been transferred. They are: Sangareddy's M Ramana Kumar, Kamareddy's B Srinivas Reddy, Jagityal's A Bhaskar, Mahabubnagar's K Narasimha, Nagarkurnool's K Manohar, Jogulamba Gadwal's K Srujana, Mahbubabad's G Chandramohan, Narayanpet's N Venkateswarlu, Jayashankar Bhupalapally's P Karunakar, and Suryapet's Rajender Prasad.
“Anand is a local from Hyderabad and is perceived to be close to the ruling party. There were also complaints about him not letting opposition party members, especially Congress, hold protests. Similarly, Satyanarayana in Nizamabad also faces similar allegations especially by the BJP,” stated the government official, who did not want to be named.
The ECI on October 9 announced that polling will be held here on November 30 and that the votes would be counted on December 3. From the announcement date, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into effect, with the ECI now looking over the state’s administration fully. A member of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) said that the ECI team which visited the state last week to check for poll preparedness admonished the government over all these issues before it left.
The ECI team also reportedly pointed out that there were many non-cadre IAS officers in senior positions in the government. Amongst the 10 other superintendents who were transferred on Wednesday, nine are non-cadre. A BJP leader from the state also said that the party had complained to the ECI about some officials having a bias and sought their transfers.
Apart from the IAS officers, Director of Excise and Prohibition Musharraf Ali, Transport Secretary Srinivasa Raju, and Commercial Tax Commissioner T K Sridevi were also transferred. The ECI also asked Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari to appoint full time principal secretaries for Excise and Commercial Taxes. The government has also been told to furnish alternative names to replace those who have been transferred.
The government official also said that the transfer of Commercial Tax Commissioner Sridevi was also not surprising. “She is the sister of an ex-IPS officer who had worked worked closely with the Chief Minister,” he added.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders however brushed this whole thing off as “routine”, and said it was expected. “They should have done it the same day when the election was announced. It is not just in Telangana but even other states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where officers have been transferred,” said a BRS functionary from Hyderabad who did not want to be named.