CM in dilemma over LPG price hike relief

he state government is in a dilemma over subsidising further the price of LPG cylinders, the price of which was recently hiked by Rs 35.

Though the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, is keen on providing some relief to consumers, the quantum of relief is not decided. The government already subsidises each cylinder by Rs 25.

In discussions with the CM, officials laid out the figures. The state had been paying Rs 16 crore every month towards the previous subsidy of Rs 25 on each cylinder. Mr Rosaiah decided to discuss the issue threadbare in the cabinet meet scheduled for July 1.

The government had earlier considered waiving Value Added Tax on the increased price of diesel.

Sources said the officials told the Chief Minister that the net benefit to the customer would be 40 paise on each litre but the revenue loss to the state could be Rs 350 crore per year.

“While individual customers will not feel any benefit and acknowledge the government gesture, the state will lose heavily,” a senior minister pointed out.

The Chief Minister also heard the recommendations of members of the Group of Ministers on fee reimbursement to tighten the scheme. The suggestions included requiring 75 per cent attendance and passing every year in order to qualify, and withdrawal of the facility for students whose family income crosses Rs 1 lakh and who possess a car.

College managements deny plot, want government to release fee

The Consortium of Engineering College Managements Association (CECMA) strongly condemned the statement made by the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, that college managements are conspiring against the government by aiding and abetting the agitation taken up by the BC leader, Mr R. Krishnaiah, over the non-reimbursement of fees to students.

Officials of the CECMA said that the college managements have nothing do with Mr Krishnaiah’s agitation as he was fighting on behalf of the students and wanted the government to release the fee arrears amounting to more than Rs 2,000 crore.

“It’s unfortunate that the CM has made such baseless allegations against us. He should realise that it’s the failure of the government in releasing funds that led to this situation. The government promised to release Rs 1,000 crore by June but we have not received a single paisa so far. Ignoring that, the CM is now trying to put the blame on college managements for his government’s failure,” said the general secretary of the CECMA, Dr P. Rajeshwar Reddy. The CECMA represents over 600 engineering colleges in the state.

Mr Reddy also said that the colleges are extending their complete co-operation to the government even though the latter has not released funds for the past one year. “Many colleges are on the verge of closure owing to financial crisis as they did not receive the fee reimbursements. Despite this, we never troubled any student and allowed them to appear for the final exams. Instead of appreciating this, the government is threatening us,” said Dr Reddy.

The CECMA also came down heavily on some ministers and MLAs for regularly issuing public threats to colleges over the fee reimbursement issue.

“Some ministers said they are releasing funds to colleges even though some lack the requisite faculty and infrastructure. This is a lie as all our institutions are recognised by the AICTE, the state and the affiliating universities. The state can act against any college that does not adhere to rules, but it cannot blame us for their failure to reimburse fees,” stated Dr Reddy.

Meanwhile, Mr K. Rosaiah again appealed to all political parties not to politicise the issue and accused the parties of resorting to misinformation campaigns despite knowing the government’s efforts in this regard.

Dam spillway lies unrepaired

The urgent repairs suggested for the spillway of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam nine months ago are yet to be undertaken though another monsoon season has started.

Experts are worried that the safety of the dam may be in jeopardy if floods occur before the spillway is repaired.

Part of the spillway and adjoining vents were damaged in the record-level discharge of water from Nagarjuna Sagar during the 2009 floods. The dam safety committee recommended immediate repairs and the irrigation department prepared proposals and also selected some companies to take up the work.

However, the government intervened and cancelled the proposal to hand over the work on nomination and directed the officials to go for short tenders.

But it took the department three months to call short tenders. When the bids were opened, only one company was found to be qualified. But the irrigation officials are now trying to relax the tender conditions again and this has generated another controversy.

All the files related to the issue have now been placed before the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who will take a final decision on the matter.

"The safety panel recommended immediate action but we have little time left,” said Mr Adityanath Das, secretary of irrigation. “We have asked the panel whether we can take up the work post monsoon.”

With repairs at Srisailam almost completed, the inflows from Almatti, Narayanpur and Jurala will start reaching in July. This has added to the worries about the dam’s safety.

Priority sector to get funds

The state government on Tuesday decided to release funds to the priority sectors first. Caught in a severe financial crunch, several key departments like irrigation, power, school education, welfare and rural developments were deprived of funds even to meet their regular expenditure.

Acting on a news item published by this newspaper on Tuesday, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, convened a high-level meeting wherein all finance secretaries were asked to prepare a list of dues to be paid immediately.

It was noticed that bills amounting to Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 were kept pending and needed immediate attention. The irrigation department dues are pegged at Rs 3,500 crore, scholarship dues at Rs 1,600 crore, Pavala Vaddi scheme dues at nearly Rs 300 crore and mid-day meal scheme dues are at about Rs 500 crore. All these have been were pending for the last three months.

Mr K Rosaiah directed the finance officials to clear the old dues in a phased manner without stopping the regular bills.

The meeting finalised a strategy wherein the finance department would pay part of the old dues along with regular bills.

To meet the monthly requirements, the officials decided to adhere to the monthly targets for the revenue collection.

“If the monthly targets of revenue collections are not met, even the regular payments cannot be made. The Chief Minister asked us to plan clearing off of the old dues in the next six months,” said a senior official.

The meeting also decided to extend government guarantee for Rs 400 crore to the APSRTC, which is raising loans from the open market. State government would provide counter guarantee for these loans. It was also decided to give Rs 30 crore to the RTC to meet the regular needs.

The Chief Minister asked the irrigation officials to prepare an action plan to clear all pending bills by this year end.

Polavaram design gets CM go-ahead

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Tuesday directed the irrigation department not to make any changes in the designs of the Polavaram multi-purpose project and take steps to complete it by 2014.

The Chief Minister’s decision gains significance in view of the Praja Rajyam’s demand for speedy completion of Polavaram. It has been accusing the government of delaying the launch of project works in order to make changes in the dam design.

Soon after becoming Chief Minister, Mr Rosaiah ordered the officials to study the possibilities of changing designs to bring down the project cost. He was reacting to complaints of senior Congress leaders that the project cost was inflated.

However, the PR chief, Mr K Chiranjeevi, who is currently on a bus yatra for the cause of Polavaram in coastal districts, alleged that the government had deliberately been attempting changes to the design approved by the Central Water Commission.

Speaking to media persons after the review, the major irrigation minister, Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, said the Chief Minister wanted the new tenders to be opened by May 30 and agreements entered into with the agencies that would bag the contract in the first week of June.

The Chief Minister asked the newly-appointed adviser, Mr P.K. Agarwal, to camp in New Delhi and follow up with the Centre to get national project status for Polavaram project. Mr Rosaiah said he would once again discuss the issue with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the union water sources minister, Mr Bansal.

Sources said the officials brought to the Chief Minister’s notice the Power Finance Corporation’s doubts over setting up 960 MW hydel power project as part of Polavaram.

The PFC sought to know whether drop in inflows into Polavaram would cut down power generation capacity to 450 MW after 25 years.

The major irrigation minister, however, dismissed the apprehensions and suggested that tenders could be called for 960 MW itself. He is said to have commented that the state cannot afford to produce less power in the next 25 years despite having capacity because of anticipated fall thereafter.

Prevent Maoist attack: CM

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, has asked the police to ramp up security for public representatives and be on the alert to thwart attacks by Maoists.

He gave these directions while reviewing the security situation in the wake of the Maoist attack in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Maoists had gunned down the vice-chairperson of the Zilla Parishad, Mr U. Somalingam, at his house in Choudupalle.

The security of MLAs and ministers in North Andhra has already been stepped up. The ministers, Mr Botsa Satynarayana, Mr Dharmana Prasada Rao and Mr Balaraju were asked to be on alert. Public representatives have also been asked not to go to remote areas.

The intelligence IG, Mr Mahender Reddy, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr A.K. Khan, took part in the review meeting. The police officers explained to the Chief Minister how the Maoist attacks took place in Vishakapatnam in the past two days. The state government has also decided to ask the Union home ministry to provide a helicopter to the state for shifting injured persons in emergency situations. “We will be talking to the Union home minister on this,” said the state home minister Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy.

7-day yagna to power CM ends

Rivals of the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, would now have to strive harder. For the veteran has ensured that the Gods are on his side too.

In the early hours of Saturday, the Chief Minister took part in the concluding session of a yagna performed by loyalists and well wishers for his health and longevity (political and physical) and for the general welfare of the people in the state.

Mr Rosaiah and his family reached the Padmavati Kalyana Mandapam in A.S. Rao Nagar where the yagna was being performed and spent about an hour at the venue to participate in purnahuti, which marked the end of the ritual. It is believed that even those who merely attend the purnahuti will get the entire benevolence due from the yagam, not to speak of those who participate in it.

The powerful Rudra, Ati Rudra and Maha Rudra yagam were started on April 19 and over 150 Vedic pandits from different parts of the state took part in it.

Mr Rosaiah said his participation in the concluding ritual of the yagam was a personal affair and had nothing to do with the government. “I am a religious person and everyone knows it. “When my friends and well-wishers asked me to participate, I went. This is purely a personal matter and has nothing to do with the government. Not a paisa of the government was spent for the yagna,” he said.

Cops on tenterhooks as Rosaiah travels by train

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah’s train travels are giving nightmares to those charged with his security as they are having a tough time guarding the train as it stops at and passes through Naxal-affected districts and forests.

Mr Rosaiah travelled by the Simhapuri Express from Secunderabad to Ongole on April 18 to participate in a gram sabha in a remote village in Prakasam district.

Unpredictable weather conditions and still-fresh memories of former chief minister Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s fatal crash have ensured that helicopters are not the choice mode of transport of VVIPs these days.

A senior official of the state police said, “Intelligence Bureau had earlier alerted that Maoists could hijack trains to free incarcerated Naxal leader Kobad Ghandhy. There were several instances of Naxals targeting trains. A VIP on a train passing through Warangal in North Telangana and Khammam bordering Chhattisgarh cannot be taken easily.”

Officials of the Intelligence Security Wing say that foolproof security is being given to him on whatever route he takes. An official said, “Whether he goes by air, road or train we make all security arrangements.”

Congress brass goes to Delhi

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, and the PCC chief Mr D. Srinivas, and scores of other Congress leaders, including ministers, left for New Delhi on Wednesday night amidst reports of a Cabinet reshuffle and selection of candidates for the ensuing Legislative Council polls.

Mr Rosaiah, who will attend the Chief Ministers’ conference convened by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on the price rise issue on Thursday, will take the opportunity to meet the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to seek her approval for the reshuffle proposals.

It was evident on Wednesday evening, soon after the scheduled cabinet meeting was over, all the ministers followed the Chief Minister to his chambers and each one tried to meet him for a while to express their loyalty fearing some of them may loose their jobs in the proposed cabinet reshuffle.

Not only that all the ministers waited for the Chief Minister to complete his one-on-one meetings and again followed him downstairs to see him off.

The Chief Minister is expected return from Delhi either with approval for the reshuffle or an indication to defer the exercise for now. He is believed to have been advised against going for changes in the Cabinet to avoid trouble from those who would be dropped and from disappointed aspirants.

But, Mr Rosaiah, according to sources, has decided to brief Mrs Gandhi on the pros and cons and follow her decision.

Mr Srinivas also left for Delhi to attend meetings on the organisational elections. He is also expected to meet Mrs Gandhi and seek her nod on his contest the Hyderabad local body seat in the ensuing Council polls.

The former minister, Mr Shabbir Ali, member in the AP Congress coordination panel, is very much in the race for the seat. Both these leaders are from Nizamabad and considered non-locals for the local body elections.

The decision of the Congress president on the fate of Mr Srinivas will also decide his future plans of joining the Rosaiah cabinet as deputy Chief Minister.

Mr Srinivas is expected to talk to the leadership on the nature of the report he has to submit to the Justice Srikrishna panel on the state bifurcation. The Congress has not come out openly on its stand on bifurcation issue so far. But, when the Srikrishna panel wrote to party presidents to spell out their stand on the issue, Mr Srinivas announced that he would submit a report with the advise of the high command. If that will happen, the Congress party stand on Telangana issue would be known for the first time.

1st time MLAs want the moon

First-time MLAs have requested the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to give them Cabinet berths in the reshuffle scheduled for for next month.

The former Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, had kept the first-time MLAs at bay with his guideline that only seniors would be made ministers and freshers should wait for at least a full term and concentrate more on learning.

However, Dr Reddy had made a sole exemption in the case of Mr G. Vinod from Chennur, the son of former union minister, Mr G. Venkataswamy.

Mr Rosaiah is also planning to apply the same guideline for the proposed reshuffle to avoid pressure from juniors.

To pre-empt him, around 92 first-time MLAs of the Congress have prepared a memorandum to be submitted to Mr Rosaiah seeking representation in the Cabinet.

The memorandum, which initially thanked Mr Rosaiah for enhancing the constituency development fund for each MLA,

requested him to consider inclusion of some of the first time elects into Cabinet in order to maintain ‘balance’.

They also requested him to accommodate other freshers as chairpersons of state owned public sector undertakings and corporations.

Party sources said the move by the new MLAs was likely to cause embarrassment to the Chief Minister who is keen on following the YSR line in picking up ministers from the ‘seniors’ category.

“It is not a sin to demand ministership since we are also elected representatives like the seniors,” said one first-time MLA.

Plan for revival of Akkulam lake

The government has drawn up a Rs. 30 crore project for reviving the Akkulam Lake and the Akkulam tourist village here.

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Sports M. Vijayakumar told the media that lake would be dredged and cleared of waste materials as part of the plan to improve the flow of water. Besides, protective walls would be constructed along the banks with foot paths and electric lighting. The Kerala Maritime Development Corporation, Travancore Cements Limited and Inland Navigation Corporation would undertake the work.

In addition, the Harbour Engineering Department had tendered work for constructing two break waters, at a cost of Rs. 12 crore, to prevent formation of sand bar at Veli estuary after monsoon. Environmental clearance was awaited for the project. Besides, the Irrigation Department was undertaking a Rs. 8 crore scheme to clean up the Amayizhanchan Thodu which drains into the Lake.

Mr. Premachandran said that no environmental impact study had been conducted regarding the construction of backwaters though their construction would cause sea erosion in nearby areas.

He said that Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan would inaugurate the works at a function to be held in the tourist village on Wednesday. Besides himself, Food and Civil Supplies Minister C. Divakaran, Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem, Mayor Jayan Babu and Members of the Assembly G.Karthikeyan, V. Sivan­kutty and V. Surendran Pillai would attend the function.

I-T inquiry ordered into Maya currency garland

The UP Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati’s garland of currency notes worth crores of rupees rocked the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and forced the Income Tax department to probe the issue.

The Lok Sabha had to be adjourned twice in the first half as the Congress, BJP and the SP members attacked the BSP chief for wearing a huge garland at a public rally on Monday and disrupted House proceedings.

As chaos continued the Deputy Speaker, Mr Kariya Munda, adjourned the House for recess till 12 pm.

“We want a CBI probe into the source of the money used in the garland,” said the SP chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The I-T department will probe the funding and ownership of currency notes, sources said.

The department has also asked its intelligence wing to gather information in this regard including the funding of the entire event that took place to celebrate the BSP’s silver jubilee.

The department will also probe the genuineness of the notes which could be seized for the purpose, they said.

More power for small industries

More than 2 lakh small and medium industries in the state will have shorter power cuts from Monday. The four hour cut between 6 pm and 10 pm has been withdrawn with immediate affect.

Acting on a report carried by this newspaper, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, asked energy officials to see that distress of these industrial units is reduced to some extent. He asked the small scale industries minister, Ms D.K. Aruna, meet with industry officials over the matter.

At a meeting attended by representatives of industry, and the energy department and APTransco, majority of industries demanded that the government review its 3-day power holiday. The government agreed to review it but wanted time.

“We have to see whether we can manage or not. To remove the power holiday for one day, we need to buy more power,” said Mr M.T. Krishna Babu, chairman and MD of Central Power Distribution Company (CPDC). Evening cuts will be relaxed to help small and medium units, he said.

Massive traffic jams in Hyderabad

The State capital witnessed an unprecedented traffic grid lock in major parts of the city, especially those on the southern and western parts after the police imposed traffic restrictions on a massive scale to prevent the pro-Telangana students from carrying out their threat of laying siege to the State Assembly on Saturday.

Osmania University campus, the nerve centre of agitation for bifurcation of state remained peaceful, as massive contingents of police kept a close watch on a gathering of about 500 students. By 10.30 p.m. the assemblage of students were moving towards the NCC gate of the University, apparently in a bid to take out a rally to the Assembly.

However, police are determined to take them into custody, if the students try to cross the university gate.

Meanwhile, the Government has assured a delegation of the journalists that cases registered against media personnel in Osmania University police station would be withdrawn. Following this assurance from the Chief Minister, K. Rosaiah, journalists called off their boycott of the Budget session. The State budget will be presented at 12.45 p.m. today.

The never-seen-before traffic diversions, though publicised widely led to chaotic traffic conditions, as fuming motorists argued with policemen. A massive traffic jam was reported from Bazarghat, Vijayanagar colony, Nampally, Mehdipatnam localities situated on Western parts of the city. It is bumper to bumper traffic moving sluggishly in Southern parts of the city.

Though the police had cautioned people not to venture out on Saturday in view of expected traffic jams, many could not understand why roads leading to hospitals were blocked. The road leading to Gandhi Hospital, one of the biggest Government hospices in the State was blocked from Chilkalguda cross cross roads leading to wide spread resentment.

Doctors working in the hospital and patients intending to go to Gandhi Hospital were put to inconvenience and the policemen manning the barricades chose not to listen to the pleas of people going to hospitals. At Chapel Road angry motorists began abusing policemen for not allowing an ambulance carrying a patient to move into barricaded area. As people began gathering, a policeman quickly pulled out the barricade to allow the ambulance to move through.

Reports of siren-wailing Ambulances being caught in traffic jams were received from several areas. At Goshamahal cross roads, a woman doctor working in Osmania General Hospital was seen pleading and arguing with policemen to allow her to reach hospital. The policemen told her sternly that she would not be allowed because of orders from ‘higher ups’. The flustered woman doctor, who refused to be identified, almost broke into tears.

Andhra CM K Rosaiah flagged off two trains

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Thursday flagged off the daily Garib Rath Express train between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam.

The train introduced on October 24, 2008, was so far running four times a week and has now been converted into a daily service as announced in the Railway Budget last year, South Central Railway General Manager Jayanth said.

The train would leave Secunderabad at 8.15 pm and reach Visakhapatnam at 7.30 am. On the return journey it would leave Visakhapatnam at 8.30 pm and reach Secunderabad at 8.10 am.

It has exclusive coaches for ladies, physically— challenged and senior citizens, the General Manager said.

The Chief Minister also flagged off the daily Secunderabad—Patna Express, which was till now bi-weekly.

It would leave Secunderabad at 10 am reach Patna at 7.10 pm the next day, while on the return journey the train will depart from Patna at 12.05 pm and reach Secunderabad at 9.30 pm the next day.

The train would provide a convenient travel option for pilgrims bound for holy cities like Allahabad and Varanasi.

World Bank gives state Rs 3,720 cr

The state government inked a pact with the World Bank (WB) for a loan of Rs 3,720 crore to improve roads, water and sanitation facilities in addition to other urban services.

The state and WB officials signed the agreements in the presence of the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, and the bank country director, Mr Roberto N. Zagha.

The catch in the loan, however, is that except for the portion of the loan given for roads, the WB funds can be claimed as reimbursement only. The state will have to spend on various projects by itself and then claim reimbursement from the WB.

The government will also adopt the “user-has-to-pay” policy for the water supply and sanitation projects in which the community contribution is fixed at Rs 21 crore. This will be 20 per cent of the government’s contribution of Rs 123 crore. The total project cost is Rs 864 crore.

The state aims to benefit 20 lakh people by improving rural water supply and sanitation in 16 districts.

Blind flying by pilots killed YSR

Pointing at pilot error, the inquiry committee probing the copter crash that killed Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and others on board has concluded that the crew, after noticing a technical snag in bad weather, were “engrossed for vital six minutes before the (collision) impact in searching for the relevant checklist from the flight manual”.

This “distracted their attention from the prevailing poor visibility weather conditions thus leading to the loss of situational awareness”, the report said.

The committee concluded that the probable cause of the accident was that it “occurred due to loss of control resulting in uncontrolled descent on the terrain at a very high rate of descent due to entry into severe down draught”.

A down draught is a powerful current of air moving downwards during thunderstorms and bad weather.

The report also points out that “the crew flew in instrument flying condition though the flight plan was cleared for Visual Flight Rules (VFR)”.

Instrument flying condition is when pilots fly primarily with reference to instruments instead of being guided by the visibility outside.

The instrument flying condition is also referred to as blind flying and is regarded by helicopter aviation experts as one of the main reasons behind accidents.

The pilot of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed on September 2, 2009 was Gp. Capt. S.K. Bhatia, a senior serving IAF officer, while the co-pilot was M.S. Reddy.

The fact that the committee has concluded that the crew lost six crucial minutes before the collision in their search for a flight manual checklist in bad weather indicates that YSR and other passengers onboard could have been saved from the crash had there not been this error on the part of the pilots.

The combined result of the down draught — that aided rapid loss of altitude of the helicopter in bad weather — and the “loss in situation awareness” triggered by the crew’s search for a checklist led to the crash.

The Bell-430 helicopter of the AP Government crashed into the Rudrakoduru Hills near Kurnool while on a flight from Hyderabad on September 2, 2009.

The obvious pilot error, hinted at by the report, is shocking since Gp Capt Bhatia was regarded by the IAF as a seasoned pilot with an abundance of flying experience. Even top IAF officers had referred to Gp. Capt. Bhatia as a “very experienced pilot”.

Rosaiah opts to go by Gentleman's Agreement, wants Geeta as Dy CM

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to elevate the tourism minister, Dr J. Geeta Reddy, to the post of deputy chief minister in the Cabinet reshuffle slated to take place before the commencement of the Assembly budget session next month.

Mr Rosaiah is proposing the deputy chief ministership to revive a key facet of the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956.

The agreement signed by Telangana and Andhra leaders before the formation of Andhra Pradesh had several provisions to prevent discrimination against Telangana.

The Chief Minister’s attempt to revivify it should be seen in the context of the ongoing struggle for a separate Telangana.

If Dr Geeta Reddy is not chosen, another MLA from the powerful ‘Reddy’ community would get the post.

The Chief Minister also wants to induct the Speaker, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, in the Cabinet. He will be allotted the finance portfolio that is presently being held by the Chief Minister himself.

Mr Rosaiah will put his reshuffle proposals before the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, when he goes to Delhi to attend the Chief Ministers’ conference on price rise on January 27.

He is hoping that by the beginning of the budget session, the problems relating to resignations by Congress MLAs from Telangana region would have been sorted out.

But if the Telangana issue stretches beyond January, he will go for the revamp only after completion of the budget session, as by convention no reshuffle or expansion of ministry takes place during the legislative session.

The Chief Minister is presently holding key portfolios such as finance, excise, power, commercial taxes, and women and child welfare.

KVP turns CM’s right-hand man

The Rajya Sabha member, Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, the key aide of the late Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, has now metamorphosed into a “Man Friday” of the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah.

KVP was considered the friend, philosopher and guide of YSR and also orchestrated the “Jagan Mohan Reddy as CM” campaign after the former Chief Minister’s untimely death.

But once he realised that Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s chances of becoming Chief Minister in the near future were bleak, KVP changed tack and cosied up to Mr Rosaiah. He is now the most influential adviser of the Chief Minister.

Mr Rosaiah is a plainspeaking politician with vast administrative experience, but he lacks the ‘contact’ with the Delhi bosses, MPs, MLAs, and other big shots. This is where KVP comes in.

Now KVP deals with Delhi leaders for the CM The personal rapport he developed with them during YSR’s time is coming of use.

The line of luxury cars outside KVP’s house is also back. They had gone missing after Jagan had been ruled out as CM. People who were dealing with KVP to reach YSR find that this practice works just fine. Their works are on without a hitch.

It is political compulsion that has brought this surprising camaraderie into being. Mr Rosaiah needed a person he can confide in and the Rajya Sabha MP also did not want to lose his proximity to power.

Several Telangana leaders had cautioned Mr Rosaiah to stay away from KVP, but he ignored them. Similarly, the YSR group was resentful of KVP’s newfound friendship but he told them that they could not continue as dissidents forever when the high command preferred Mr Rosaiah.

“The Chief Minister has to play politics for which he needs a person, and who better than KVP,’’ said a source close to Mr Rosaiah.

Earlier, KVP, who heads the advisory panel on public safety and security, used to visit the Secretariat occasionally for review meetings. Now he makes it a point to meet the CM at his residence during late hours for long discussions on various issues. KVP is also meeting other friends and politicians in his Banjara Hills apartment.