Chandrababu Sidelines Parakala Prabhakar

Amaravati: After snapping ties with the BJP-led central government, the Chandrababu Naidu government is trying to sideline those even remotely associated with the BJP. The latest development in this context is the distancing of media advisor to AP government, Parakala Prabhakar. It has been seen that Prabhakar has been cut down to size in recent weeks.

Parakala has been Media Advisor for the State for the last four years. Over the last few days, the CMO has been dropping hints and expressing displeasure at his continuation in the office.

Of late, Chandrababu has not been consulting Parakala on important matters. In the recently concluded Collectors' Conference, the AP CM introduced Sanjay Arora as the Media Advisor to the state in Parakala's presence. This was a clear indication of the sidelining of Parakala.

According to a top official source, Chandrababu fears that the proximity of Parakala to the CMO and to higher levels in the government could be a sort of a threat because key information could then be passed on to the Centre.

Chandrababu made it a point to introduce Sanjay Arora as the Advisor at least three to four times in the Collectors' Conference and also asked him to make a presentation on publicity and media management. Parakala was appointed as Media Advisor by Chandrababu in 2014. He was involved not just in media affairs but was also a key person for government and the party affairs.