Hyderabad, July 02: The constitution of an Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Security with Chief Minister’s YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Man Friday, KVP Ramachandra Rao, as its Chairman has raised many eyebrows.
Those critical of the decision wonder where is the need for such a committee when there is a full-fledged home department. Ironically, Home Minister Sabita Reddy has been left out of the committee which, critics say, indicates that all is not well with the committee.
With access to classified information, the committee will become an extraconstitutional panel, the critics argue and are afraid that the ifnormation might be used for settling scores with political opponents.
The Telugu Desam expressed apprehensions over the intentions behind the formation of the committee and termed it as unconstitutional.
Speaking to reporters here, TDP leaders Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and D Narendra Kumar demanded that the committee be scrapped forthwith. They alleged that the appointment of Ramachandra Rao was only to settle scores with the political opponents of the Congress and to stifle the voice of the Opposition.
They also found fault with the State Government for not including Home Minister P Sabita Indra Reddy in the committee.
As the committee was likely to review the activities of terrorists, Maoists and other cases, Ramachandra Rao would be privy to information on political opponents, they feared.
CPI State secretary K Narayana also demanded immediate disbanding of the committee, saying there was a risk of KVP becoming an extraconstitutional authority.
He said the committee would be used to get at the Congress opponents.
Speaking to TNIE from Delhi, noted security expert and former DGP of Uttar Pradesh and Assam Prakash Singh said he could not understand what purpose the committee would serve.
“After the Mumbai terror, the Maharashtra Government also constituted a 60-member jumbo committee and everybody laughed at it.
Since I do not know the reasons for the setting up of a committee on public safety and security in AP, I can not comment on it,’’ Prakash Singh, who probed the Maoist attack on Chandrababu Naidu at Alipiri, said.
Some security experts too have expressed apprehensions that that the committee might use the information it received to fix the opponents of the ruling party.
As such, KVP wields extraordinary powers and virtually runs a parallel government.
In the new avatar chances are that he may exceed his brief, they have said.
–Agencies–