AP may head for Prez rule

Governor Narasimhan visits national capital, meets Sonia and Singh

Since returning to Raj Bhavan on Sunday, the Governor is also busy holding tele-conferences with senior officials in Hyderabad and the troubled Telangana districts where agitators are holding “rasta roko” and targeting homes of Congress MLAs, MPs and ministers.

The governor’s official residence has had a flurry of visitors in recent days, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy as well as the members and Chairman of the Committee.
Though the governor has clarified that he has been advising the chief minister more as a fatherly figure and was not meddling in the affairs of the state, Opposition parties have condemned his actions.

While the BJP asked for his recall, the TDP demanded a strong censure of the governor. A senior Telangana Congress leader, Palavai Goverdhan Reddy, even described him as “General Dyer” and anti-Telangana.

Best way

According to a constitutional expert, President’s rule could be the best way to handle the freefall with MLAs and ministers from Congress belonging to coastal Andra and Telangana threatening to resign.

The state Assembly does not have a speaker and the promise of appointing the Deputy Chief Minister from Telangana also remains unfulfilled.

Political observers say appointment of former IPS officer and Intelligence Bureau chief Narasimhan for the state governorship was to control the political fall out after the Srikrishna Committee report.

It has become clear now that the party high command wants the governor to monitor the situation in Andra, rather than relying on the party leadership in the state to tackle contentious issues like Telangana and Jagan revolt.

Narasimhan made news for his intrusion into the state administration, leaving the former Chief Minister K Rosaiah wondering who was actually in charge of the state.
He also confided to his aids that the high command was informed of local developments ahead of him.

The governor initially appointed and removed a few vice chancellors, rejecting some earlier recommendations by the government and asking them to suggest  some other names by appointing fresh search committees.

Reddy was said to have differed with the Governor on the issue of deploying paramilitary forces ahead of the publication of Srikrishna report.

Narasimhan and police DIG Aravinda Rao were charged of acting together in deploying the police at Osmania University.