A serious effort is said to have been made by the Congress Government to prefer former bureaucrats and police officers to head the controversy ridden Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) before it decided to zero in on a former DGP of Telangana.
Highly placed Government sources said the Government was determined to erase the poor reputation the Commission had earned in wake of the question paper leakage of Group I and II examinations, and decided to name retired IAS or IPS officer with clean image and impeccable track record as the chairperson. It was keen on roping in former IAS officer Akunuri Murali or former ADGP Dr. R. S. Praveen Kumar for the coveted post.
The Government is understood to have first tipped off former IAS officer Akunuri Murali. The senior bureaucrat, a vocal critic of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) after his resignation from the All India service, was the first choice.
“An offer was made to him but it was found that he had crossed the age of 62 years, which is the upper age limit to head the TSPSC,” the source said. Mr. Murali too confirmed to The Hindu that he been asked his interest to take up the challenging job. “I told them that I had crossed 62 years. So I am not eligible for the post,” he said.
The Government then made an attempt to rope in former Additional DGP rank officer Dr. R. S. Praveen Kumar, who is the President of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Dr. Praveen also contested the recent Assembly election as BSP candidate from Sirpur constituency in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district and lost the polls.
It is said Dr. Praveen Kumar politely declined the offer claiming that as he was already in politics, it would not be right to take up a post offered by the Congress Government.
Both Mr. Murali and Dr. Praveen Kumar are Dalits and are known to take on the establishments exposing the fault lines in administration and shortcomings in the implementation of the Government programmes. Curiously enough, both of them had taken up a campaign to improve the education sector in Telangana.
Dr. Praveen Kumar transformed the TS Social Welfare Residential Schools across Telangana with his innovative approach as its Secretary for over seven years, a record of sorts. The students studying in these institutions carved out a niche in various fields.
Mr. Murali, a 2006 batch IAS officer, chose to quit the service after he was shunted out as Director General of Telangana State Archives and Research Centre. Prior to that, he was the Collector of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district and came to limelight when he took his pregnant daughter to Government hospital for delivery.
The Government had issued a notification inviting applications for the post of TSPSC chairperson and members. In all 371 applications including 50 for the chief’s post had been received a vetted by a search committee last week. It was only then it decided to recommend the name of former DGP M. Mahender Reddy for the top post. The file pertaining to his selection is with Governor’s office now. “The approval may be granted in a day or two,” sources said adding that other members would also be nominated after the appointment of the chairperson.
