The revelations of corruption in top bureaucratic echelons by just-retired Andhra Pradesh Vigilance Commissioner Ramachandra Samal has shaken the babus with several of them coming out with explanations. Others have accused Samal of “vendetta” against them for not obliging him at some point in their career.

However, this is not the end of their woes as Samal has promised to release another list of 160 names of corrupt officers. He had named last week in a report he released to the media, 18 IAS, IPS and IFS officers as “corrupt”, including two top bureaucrats in the Chief Minister’s office. He had also cast aspersions on Home Minister K Jana Reddy demanding that his antecedents be checked and that he was not “fit” to hold the position of home minister.

The IAS Officers Association wants the government to take action against Samal for “misusing” his position by making public the information he was privy to as a senior officer and vigilance commissioner.

It is also reportedly not happy with the investigation ordered by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy into Samal’s allegations.

It believes more “dirt” would be thrown up and it would affect the morale of the bureaucracy. The Association President S N Mohanty is one of those named by Samal. The CM constituted a three-member committee to enquire into the allegations of corruption levelled by former Vigilance Commissioner R C Samal against a host of top bureaucrats including two in the CM's office and the Home Minister K Jana Reddy.

The enquiry has been dismissed an “eyewash” since these very offices have been named by Samal in his report as being among the most corrupt. The TDP has described this as an accused sitting over judgement over the accuser and that it showed that the CM was not serious about fighting corruption. “It shows the government’s insincerity to get to the bottom of the truth and initiate action,” said TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.

He also took offence to the CM “giving a clean chit” to two top officials in the CMO and the Home Minister K Jana Reddy and said the enquiry had no meaning if the CM decided beforehand that the allegations were false.

The CM had strongly condemned Samal's allegations against elected representatives. He was also angry at Samal for targeting the Home Minister whom he described as “most respectable”.

Meanwhile, another report in which 25 officials close to the TDP government have been named as corrupt, is doing the rounds which is reported to have been “leaked” by those close to the Congress to put TDP on the defensive.

However, Samal has not spared the former TDP government either, saying it had “buried” Vigilance Commissioner’s reports by not submitting them to the Assembly and that “TDP government was no exception in shielding the corrupt and corruption”.