Hyderabad, Oct 23 (PTI) Senior IAS officer Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi’s voluntary retirement has triggered a political row in Telangana with the BRS accusing the government of “harassing” bureaucrats to engage in corruption.
Rizvi, a 1999 batch officer who has about a decade of service left, opted for voluntary retirement from October 31 and the state government accepted it. The reason for his VRS is not known.
Reacting to Rizvi’s VRS, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar said the IAS officer’s retirement exposes how Telangana’s bureaucracy is being crushed between corrupt politics and blame games.
He said Telangana deserves to know why an honest and efficient officer was forced to take this step.
“If ministers can’t make an officer bend to their pressure, do they choose to sacrifice him instead? Is this how the Congress government plans to run administration – by harassing officers who refuse to serve their personal interests?,” the minister asked in a post on ‘X’.
Ministers interfere in tenders, twist rules, and when caught, blame the officers who refused to compromise, he alleged.
Kumar further said the BRS did the same during its tenure. KCR (BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao) humiliated officers by making them face the Kaleshwaram probe for his failed project decisions. His son blamed bureaucrats in the Formula E case to save himself for his blunders.
“Now Congress has picked up where BRS left off – targeting officers while defending their favourites. This is not governance. It’s harassment in the name of administration and open protection of corruption,” he added.
Addressing a press conference, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao alleged that IAS and IPS officers are opting for voluntary retirement (VRS) because they are being pressured to commit wrongful acts.
“Rizvi refused to carry out orders by Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao. The minister also wrote a letter to the government not to accept his resignation,” Rao alleged.
Rijvi, who is currently serving as Principal Secretary, Revenue (Prohibition & Excise), could not be reached for comment.
A letter purportedly written by Krishna Rao to the Chief Secretary alleged that Rizvi was deliberately stalling a tendering process for high security holograms to be pasted on liquor bottles. PTI GDK KH
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