Chanchalguda Jail as Secretariat and Party HQ!

The Chanchalguda is a small corner of old city, calm and quiet. Some people in Hyderabad know that place because of Jail. But now it is known all over. Thanks to top politicians, senior IAS officers, stinking rich businessmen and Corporate Heads, who made the premise of the jail a colorful power center! Perhaps the Jail officers have to make special arrangements around the jail, not only for security purposes but also for facilitating democratic functioning of political parties, board meetings of the corporates besides helping media conferences. Media organizations generally allocate portfolios to its members of reporting Bureau. A new portfolio need to be added, i.e., Chanchalguda Jail! They might need a bureau to cover mix of corporate affairs and politics with scam as cementing factor.

The people and media are poised to see spectacular events where politics and crimes are so mixed inseparably with two Ministers standing as accused in the Court for remands and commands. Every time the case is posted, the lawyers and witnesses will be getting an otherwise rare opportunity to see their leaders, representatives and officers. They might spot their beloved stars among the accused with great joy.

The police and judicial administration may need to make very special arrangements to thousands of visitor whenever the political stars and IAS giants with corporate personalities recording their presence. There should also be a media hub as we find in Assembly and Secretariat for prominent and popular accused to address media and explain their present and future activities besides denying their role in charged crime and how the police or CBI are politically motivated, so on and so forth.

The Chanchalguda jail is now a place of happenings and police get a unique opportunity to meet different political leaders, with their leaders being placed in the prison as long standing inmates. The media with its pens and cameras require a permanent set up at Chanchalguda jail which has already become Tihar of South India. A If Tihar Jail housed scamsters of 2g, CWG etc, Chanchalguda is famous for housing top politicians making it a new spot and power center for the aspirants of 2014 elections.

The Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet is haunted by the criminal consequences of signatures ministers affixed to files sent by Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. Another cabinet minister became accused in 420 and corruption related crime against Dr. Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, MP and son of the former CM. Public interest litigation is pending before Supreme Court wherein 26 GOs are cited as proofs of doling out favours to some private persons in return to huge investments made in companies floated by friends and followers of Jagan group.

Six ministers of Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, who continued in Kiran Kumar Reddy, are fighting the PIL with the 'legal aid' provided by the state. It was bad luck for Mr. Mopidevi Venkataramana who lost post and liberty as accused. Mr. Dharmana Prasad Rao and Ms. Sabita Indra Reddy are unique with designation of 'accused minister'. It is pathetic that these ministers will be produced by the state before the trial court for prosecution. They visit courts not as guests of honour.

With all official paraphernalia these rulers stand before the judge. The police will produce their top boss, the Home Minister for prosecution of criminal charges. The rules of protocol should be amended as to honours to be provided to accused ministers.A The CBI charged Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy as accused number 4 in their fifth charge sheet and informed the court that sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act was not required. A similar question was raised when CBI charged Mr. Dharmana and the court ruled that there was no need to seek sanction.

The other accused Jagan, his aide Vijay Sai Reddy, Managing Director of Dalmia Cements Punit Dalmia, suspended IAS officer Ms Y Sri Lakshmi and the then Director of Mines in Andhra Pradesh V D Rajgopal. Officers were arrested. A The CBI alleged that Dalmia, Eeswar and Raghuram Cements invested in businesses promoted by Jagan and in return the Dalmia Cements was allotted 400 hectares of limestone mines at throw-away prices, by Mrs. Sabita Indra Reddy as mines minister in YSR rule, which was misuse of office as public servant. The essence of the charge in earlier four charge sheets was that former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and his son Jagan hatched conspiracy to defraud the state.

Yet they will continue in office. Is it not a straight violation of equality under Article 14? While officers get arrested and suspended as CBI charged him, the other elected public servants continue in office with recorded charges against him. Such a situation was not foreseen by the Constitutional makers. If not they would have prohibited accused to continue in cabinet.

As on today no law mandates the accused ministers to resign. It's a privilege of the Chief Minister, but High Command exercises it. Or it is a moral obligation left to the individual conscience. Say 'conscience', we have to refer to the oath of ministers while assuming the office. They promise to perform their duties conscientiously. They have to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established.

When the investigation concluded that they have committed a crime based on evidence collected how can accused ministers claim that they are 'bearing truth faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India?' Being charged with a crime as defined under Indian Penal Code, which is law within the frame and scheme of our Constitution, can that be said to 'true faith' and allegiance? It is no more a moral question and definitely a 'legal question' to be answered by the tainted public servants. If not breaching oath, breach of trust is an offence. A public servant cannot be called so after breaking the oath. If oath can be punctured like this, why should there be a ceremony of administration of oath at all?

Earlier when Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy on the floor of Assembly said "�I will not give even a single pie to Telangana, you do whatever?" it was also a breach of the oath. The promise to be remembered is "..that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. The Telangana leaders questioned why this 'ill-will'?

When Dharmana was charged, Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy told press that the ministers during YSR regime simply signed wherever YSR wanted to and none knew exactly what they were doing and hence they should be protected or offered immunity. Mr. Reddy wanted Party High Command to secure their political future amidst the CBI charges.

Again, the finance minister makes scathing attack on the YSR Congress party and its president Jagan saying that there would be nothing wrong if he was hanged. Like CBI, he also charged that Jagan resorted to unprecedented corruption by indulging in large scale illegal activities taking advantage of his father's rule. He was furious and used very strong language saying 'he has no moral right to live on earth as he looted the entire State and committed financial irregularities'.

Does it mean that the ministers who blindly signed for YSR have moral right to continue in office as public servant? For his campaign to protect Sabita and would be accused ministers for issuing 26 GOs, Anam was greeted by the congress leaders. The YSRCP described it as frustration because the congress will lose miserably in 2014 elections. Meanwhile Telugu Desam criticized that YSRCP was using Chanchalguda Jail as its headquarters!