It has been just 10 days since Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu assumed charge as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time. He is yet to start functioning in full steam.
But his son and state education and IT minister Nara Lokesh has already started displaying his authority, trying to establish the fact that he is going to be the heir apparent of Naidu in the coming days.
Lokesh is said to be playing a key role in bureaucratic reshuffle to see that all those who had toed the line of YSR Congress party in the past five years are shown the door.
He has apparently opened his red book and ticking off the IAS and IPS officers who figured prominently in the book.
At the same time, he has already started public outreach programmes.
He is holding Praja Darbar for the people of his Mangalagiri constituency every day to receive representations from the people and giving instructions to the officials to resolve them.
Interestingly, people from other constituencies also have started attending Lokesh’s Praja Darbar in a big way to bring their problems to the notice of the Minister.
From early in the morning people are gathering and are directly bringing the problems they are facing to the notice of Lokesh.
There are no curbs imposed near his residence and Lokesh is meeting every person and listening to his or her problems.
And he is immediately forwarding the appeals made by the people to the officials concerned to initiate necessary action.
On Saturday, Lokesh received appeals from the people from various parts of the State to save their lands as they are illegally and forcibly occupied by the local YSRCP leaders when the party was in power.
The affected persons personally explained to Lokesh how forcibly their lands were occupied by the local YSRCP leaders. They appealed to him to take up the matter with the officials and come to their rescue.
Some persons have also asked for personal assistance. Goli Venkata Bhavana Rushi of Tadepalli appealed to Lokesh to extend financial assistance to his daughter under Kalyana Masthu scheme.
The representatives of the 12,000 contract and outsourcing employees of the AP State Beverages Corporation working with 3,600 liquor shops across the State to absorb them in different government departments.
Lokesh directed the officials to take immediate measures to see to it that the lands grabbed illegally by the local leaders are handed over back to the original owners.
In a way, he is gradually emerging as an extra constitutional authority in the Naidu government!
