Jana Sena Party chief and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, who was very much critical of certain decisions taken by the Telugu Desam Party government headed by N Chandrababu Naidu in its earlier stint, has now remained silent when the same decisions are being taken by Naidu now.
Take the case of the appointment of new executive officer for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Anil Kumar Singhal. When Naidu appointed Singhal as the TTD chief in 2017, there was a strong criticism from Pawan Kalyan.
Reason, Naidu broke the tradition by appointing Anil Kumar Singhal, an IAS officer from North India, as TTD EO. Until then, the post had always gone to senior Telugu IAS officers from Andhra Pradesh.
Pawan Kalyan, as Jana Sena president, had strongly opposed the decision. He questioned how a North Indian officer could be given charge of TTD, demanded an explanation from Chandrababu Naidu.
He asked whether South Indian officials were ever allowed to head major temples in the North. His expressed his comments through a tweet dated May 8, 2017. Now the same tweet has resurfaced and gone viral.
Reason: Anil Kumar Singhal has once again been appointed TTD EO by the coalition government in which Jana Sena is a key partner and Pawan serves as Deputy CM. Singhal assumed charge on Wednesday.
Social media users are accusing Pawan of double standards, pointing out that he is silent now despite earlier outrage.
Adding to the controversy, Jana Sena circles recall that Pawan had earlier demanded action against TTD EO and JEO after six pilgrims died in a stampede in Tirupati.
While the present government has transferred EO Shyamala Rao, JEO remains untouched — and the same Singhal has returned as EO. The issue has become a hot topic in political circles and online debates.
