Andhra Jyothy, the Telugu daily known for its pro–Telugu Desam Party stance, has come out with a sensational report claiming that some senior IAS officers are forming a pro-Jagan lobby and conspiring against the Chandrababu Naidu government.
According to the report, a retired IAS officer has allegedly been holding secret meetings with a few serving IAS officers in Andhra Pradesh in an attempt to mobilise support for YSR Congress Party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The report states that soon after the coalition government assumed power in the state, a retired IAS officer invited a few Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officers to his residence in Hyderabad and reportedly advised them on how to extend support to Jagan. However, the attempt did not succeed as the matter was leaked to Naidu.
However, similar clandestine interactions have reportedly resumed, this time under the initiative of another retired senior bureaucrat who had served in top positions before retirement.
The officer is said to have entered the scene as a “messenger” for Jagan and has begun leveraging his contacts within the IAS community to form a group of like-minded officials willing to cooperate.
As part of these efforts, the retired officer reportedly travelled to Vijayawada on Friday and convened a meeting with several serving IAS officers.
Initially, the plan was to hold informal discussions during a “morning walk” near the IAS Officers’ Association office. However, fearing that the location might not be secure, the venue was reportedly shifted.
The meeting eventually took place in an apartment located on Club Road in Vijayawada, across the Krishna River.
The apartment belongs to a close associate of the retired officer, who is said to have been managing many of his affairs both earlier and now.
The organisers reportedly believed that meeting inside the private flat would help avoid public attention.
Despite these precautions, details of the meeting reportedly leaked. The discussions began around 8 am on Friday and continued until about 10 am.
Sources indicate that about a dozen senior officials attended the meeting, including six to seven IAS officers along with a few other senior bureaucrats. Notably, all the IAS officers present were at the secretary level.
Some of them had held influential positions during the YSRCP government and are currently serving in key departments of the present administration.
During the meeting, the retired officer allegedly urged the participating officials to gather information about the functioning of the current coalition government, including meetings involving contractors and other influential individuals, as well as decisions being taken in different departments.
The officials were allegedly asked to provide information that could be used to criticise or politically target the government. Sources claim the retired officer assured them that their interests would be taken care of in return.
He also reportedly suggested that the present Naidu government was unlikely to take strict action against officials and encouraged them to quietly support Jagan. Sources say that a woman officer was also among those who attended the discussions.
Some participants were reportedly officials who had held prominent roles during the YSRCP government, benefited from the previous regime, or escaped scrutiny despite controversial decisions.
