Overzealous Somireddy ‘Left’ Red-Faced

Amaravati: For the second day in a row, officials gave a miss to the review meeting convened by Agriculture Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy on Wednesday. While it was Agriculture Department officials who did not turn up for the meeting on Tuesday, it was the turn of Horticulture Department officials on Wednesday.

Like on Tuesday, the Minister sent out a circular to the officials of the Horticulture Department to come for a review meeting at the State Secretariat to discuss about the unseasonal rains and drought-like conditions in the State. He waited for hours expecting that the officials would turn up. But they did not.

The Department officials, however, after consulting the Election Commission decided that they would skip the meeting as it was against the Model Code of Conduct. With the Code in place, officials are not obliged in any way to obey the orders of the Ministers.

The TDP government has been at loggerheads with the Election Commission over conducting review meetings since the Model Code of Conduct came into being. Starting with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP Ministers have issued diktats to bureaucrats to attend review meetings. Despite officials saying that they wouldn’t be able to do it as it would be tantamount to flouting norms, TDP Ministers did not change the attitude. As they are not willing to follow the Model Code of Conduct, the TDP Ministers have nothing but to be embarrassed.

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