Satrucharla, Botsa have something in common

It is not new for our ministers to use government officials for their personal work. It may be recalled that AICC president Sonia Gandhi had given PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana a piece of her mind for abusing his power during his daughter's marriage last year.

And now it looks like people don't learn from others' mistakes. The latest to come in the line of fire is none other than our Forest Minister Satrucharla Vijaya Rama Raju. It is learnt that the minister used his staff and police force during his nephew's wedding.

We are referring to Satrucharla's nephew Kurupam MLA Janardhan Thatraj's marriage function.

It is a known fact that the wedding was a lavish bash with who's who from the political circles gracing the event—including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, several ministers and big industrialists. The arrangements for the function were full of pomp and show. As the chief minister came to Vizag in a special flight, the arrangements had to be in order with heavy police security at the marriage hall. The police made elaborate security arrangements and traffic diversions in view of the VVIPs’ visit to the marriage venue.

It is learnt that the police randomly stopped private vehicles to use them to transport the guests.

Even the signboards put up at the traffic signals were shifted to the wedding venue. A former IAS officer expressed anger over misuse of private vehicles and staff for personal benefits. "Most vehicles were being used for guests. So if someone wanted a vehicle for an emergency purpose, there was none. If the vehicles were being used for calamities or disaster sites, it was understandable. But how can one use for personal benefits?" he asked.

-Siva@Sakshipost