Senior IAS officer Praveen Prakash has announced voluntary retirement days after he was transferred by the Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh. He was one of the key officials in former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government.
His decision has been described as unexpected by everyone. "Prakash, an officer from the 1994 batch of Andhra Pradesh cadre, had previously served as the Principal Secretary (Political) of the General Administration Department (GAD)," a report said.
For the past few weeks, the Telugu-language electronic media with pro-TDP sympathies has targeted Prakash, saying that he had a 'highway or my way' approach. A TV channel even described him as a 'Super CM' who used to be aggressive in dealing with others - be they officials or politicians.
Prakash, however, has got his own support base within the bureaucracy for his no-nonsense approach. He cracked the whip when he wanted things to get done for the greater good, something that had Jagan's blessings.
"During his tenure at the Centre as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource and later in the Housing & Urban Affairs ministry, he was considered as one of the few promising bureaucrats. However, the establishment failed to recognise his competence to give his due in career progression at the Centre," Indian Mandarins, a portal specializing in news about civil servants, wrote.
