BJP Demands That Somesh Kumar Quit From Post

Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar today demanded that Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar immediately resign from his post in the wake of the verdict of the High Court ruling against his continuation in Telangana with immediate effect.

Sanjay also demanded that the State government transfer Somesh Kumar to Andhra Pradesh as per the orders of the High Court.

He said that it was immoral for and undemocratic on the part of the State government to continue with AP cadre IAS and IPS officers in Telangana even after their allocation by the DOPT to the neighbouring State after the bifurcation in 2014.

BJP senior leader Gudur Narayana Reddy stated that the judgement of the High Court was an indignity to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and to the State government.

He said that at least now the Chief Minister needed to desist from mocking the Constitution and statutes, and should follow the rule book strictly to uphold the dignity of the government in the State.

He also said that the judgement of the High Court was a slap in the face for Somesh Kumar who he said had been hanging on to the Telangana cadre with the blessings of the Chief Minister.

"I advise Somesh Kumar to go back to his original allotted cadre, Andhra Pradesh, without going for appeals in court," Reddy said.

He added that the BJP had been crying foul for long about the continuation of Somesh Kumar in the State service as it would dent the morale of the officials of the Telangana cadre.

He also alleged that the CS was able to continue in the State only due to appeasing the CM, and that the CM was pampering officials like Kumar, who had handicaps, so as to use them to his advantage and indulge in corrupt activities.

He also claimed that many senior deserving AIS officials of the State were not appointed to important posts, and that only officials close to the CS were being given plum departments.

"The Chief Minister has similarly also been appointing retired IAS and IPS officers as advisers to serve his own purposes. These advisers should relinquish their offices on their own to honour the rule of law in the State," Reddy said.

He said that due to the unethical ways of the CM, the State had become a safe haven for corrupt officials. A few officials had amassed huge wealth and were doing injustice to their responsibilities, working only for the well being of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, he alleged.