Bend it like YSR

By Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: It's the self-styled "God's own administration" in Andhra Pradesh. The self-proclaimed God here is a despot who cares a damn about the rule of law.
If you are aspiring to become a sub-inspector (SI) of police, ensure you have the right political connections as it may help you land in the job even if you do not qualify by any chance. The Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government will create supernumerary posts, if required, and "adjust" you in those posts, as it has done in the case of a woman candidate from Kadapa district, who failed to make it in the recruitment drive way back in 2003.
Throwing all rules to the wind, the government recently issued a GO creating two supernumerary posts of SI in Kurnool Range only to accommodate one Nagireddy Aparna of Gurappagaripalli village in one of the posts. The GO (No. 12) was issued by the Home Department after Badwel MLA D C Govinda Reddy made a representation to the government in the year 2005 to appoint her as the SI of police under "women category." Aparna appeared for the recruitment test conducted by the State-LevelPolice Recruitment Board (SLPRB) in 2003 but was not selected as the vacancy was reserved for Scheduled Caste-B category. However, this post could not be filled as there was no eligible candidate, highly-placed official sources said. Though Aparna's candidature was considered under the 30 per cent women quota, she could not get selected as she was not in the first seven in the order of merit. In 2005, she approached the Badwel MLA Govinda Reddy, who promptly made a representation to the government on Aparna's behalf and everything started moving. The government informed the Director General of Police in October 2007 that it has decided to appoint Aparna "duly creating two supernumerary posts in the particular recruitment" and requested him to send proposals to the effect. The DGP promptly complied with the government directive and wrote a letter to the principal secretary (home) on November 6,2007. Subsequently, the home department issued a GO (No. 12) creating the two supernumerary posts and requested the DGP and the SLPRB chairman to "take necessary action accordingly." Of course, the GO is yet to be implemented. "It is an unprecedented and utterly implausible act. How could the government create additional posts years after a particular recruitment drive has ended," wondered a top-ranking police official. If Aparna is given the job as per the GO, it will only lead to a legal tangle as other eligible candidates who lost out because of similar reasons may contest it, police authorities fear. Meanwhile, one ruling party MLA from Guntur district walked into the SLPRB chairman's chamber the other day and reportedly spoke in a threatening voice seeking "favours" on behalf of two candidates in the recruitment of sub-inspectors. "If you don't do it, I will tell the Chief Minister and get it done," the MLA, known for his controversial acts, thundered. Police top brass say they are under immense pressure from many Congress MLAs, who are seeking favours in the fresh round of recruitment of sub-inspectors. "When MLAs are so confident of getting things done by bending the rules, can the recruitment drive be fair," a top official wondered.