In the corridors of power in Andhra Pradesh, there is much speculation over what will former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary LV Subramanyam do next. He can either choose to lie low for the next five months and 25 days that he has till he retires mid-2020 or choose a more confrontationist approach by going to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). A third option being spoken of is to seek a posting at the Centre.

But those familiar with the case say a shift to Delhi may not be possible for two reasons. One, Subramanyam is unlikely to succeed in making his presence felt in any posting in the limited time he has before retirement. Unless the powers-that-be in the BJP want to snub Jaganmohan Reddy by rehabilitating Subramanyam. 

Two, LVS headed the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation as its Managing Director in 2005 when Volkswagen car company from Germany had evinced interest in setting up a plant in Visakhapatnam. Helmuth Schewster, the director of Volkswagen had duped the Andhra Pradesh government of Rs 11 crore while Botsa Satyanarayana was the Industries minister. The then CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy handed over the case to the CBI. 

Last month, Satyanarayana (who is Municipal Administration minister in the Andhra cabinet now) deposed in the CBI court and he spoke about how he had asked Subramanyam then to ensure that the money deposited was safe. But the fraudsters duped the government, within minutes of the money being deposited in a fraud account. With this case still alive, it could affect Subramanyam’s chances of a move to Delhi, is the feeling in Amaravati.

Incidentally, Subramanyam’s successor as Chief Secretary is likely to be Nilam Sawhney who is now posted in New Delhi as Secretary in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

But another senior officer could be moving out of Andhra Pradesh. Sources say former DGP RP Thakur who was removed from the top job by the Jaganmohan Reddy government and sent to a loopline posting of Commissioner (Printing, Stationery and Stores) is pulling strings for a posting in a central agency, most likely the CBI. The YSRCP, in the run-up to the elections wanted Thakur to be replaced as DGP by the Election Commission, accusing him of being biased towards the Telugu Desam. But the EC did not heed to its request.