After rejecting the government nominees of MLCs under the Governor quota for two consecutive terms earlier, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday cleared the names of Prof. M Kodandaram and Amer Ali Khan without raising any queries.
Though it was suspected that she may withhold Kodandaram’s elevation in view of his plunge into electoral politics after Telangana state was formed, the Governor gave a green signal, apparently keeping in view his academic background and his role in the agitation for statehood.
A few hours before clearing MLCs, the Governor also approved the names recommended by the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government for the Telangana State Public Service Commission, again, without any hassle. The clearance was accorded despite one of the names recommended including an active politician belonging to the ruling party from the erstwhile combined Nalgonda district.
The appointments came a day after Revanth Reddy and deputy CM and finance minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and sought her approval.
The Telangana High Court also refused to direct the Governor to not fill vacancies under the Governor’s quota till a petition challenging her previous decision to not approve candidatures of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government nominees including Dasoju Sravan.
Sources close to the Chief Minister told Deccan Chronicle that he was very keen on maintaining cordial relations with the Centre in his capacity as the Chief Minister and maximising the benefits to the state. He exhibited his cordial approach during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Central ministers besides frequent meetings with the Governor.
“Revanth Reddy insulated himself from attacks within the party by informing central leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi, about his viewpoint on obtaining Central assistance for state development,” sources pointed out.
The defence ministry on Tuesday cleared the decks for the much-delayed skywalk at Mehdipatnam. Despite several pleas by BRS leader K T Rama Rao in his earlier avatar of municipal minister for sparing defence land, the Centre did not approve the transfer of land.
The Chief Minister also got additional IPS posts and made the Centre agree to the last-minute entry of state tableau for the Republic Day parade.
Sources also said he recently got a shot in the arm with the Centre sanctioning nearly Rs 100 crore for village cleanliness programme by arranging the state share. The Centre withheld the release of funds under this scheme for the last four years as the state failed to provide the matching grant. He asked the municipal administration and urban development department to pitch for at least Rs 1,500 cr for urban reforms.
