The resignation of Parakala Prabhakar as the Andhra Pradesh government’s media advisor is being widely debated in the State, particularly in the political circles. Though Parakala had cited his family connections with the BJP as the reason for his exit and blamed Opposition leader Jaganmohan Reddy for taking his family into controversy, there is said to be much more that led to the final exit.
It is widely said that Chief Minister Chandrbaabu Naidu had kept Parakala at distance for some time holding him responsible for the flaws in the TDP-BJP relationship. Chandrababu Naidu, thought that Parakala would be of great help to him in building relationship with the BJP, particularly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The reason is Parakala’s wife Nirmala Sitaraman in the Modi cabinet, playing an important role. The TDP chief though that Parakala would at least help him in getting interview of the Prime Minister. But, nothing could materialise and Chandrababu Naidu’s 29 visits to the national capital did not help him get things done by the BJP government at the Centre.
Chandrababu Naidu is a clear strategist when it comes to politics. He accounts the advantages for him and his party more than anything, when he relates himself with anyone. So, when he found Parakala a spent force, he kept him aside and brought in a corporate man, Arora, as advisor. This had upset Parakala Prabhakar, who has been maintaining low profile for the past three months.
The inside sources say that Parakala was waiting for an opportunity to come out of the government’s post and that had come in the form of Jaganmohan Reddy’s criticism. But, the big question that even the bureaucrats at the Velagapudi secretariat ask each other is why did Parakala praise Chandrababu Naidu so high?
Even before sending his papers on Tuesday evening, it is clear that Parakala had a meeting with Chief Minister in the previous evening at the Secretariat. The two have discussed the political developments first and then finding a safe exit to Parakala from the office of the media advisor. It was how the two-page script of resignation letter came out a few hours later.
Chandrababu Naidu is a well-crafted politician who knows how to cut the sixth finger. He had done it in the case of NTR, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, Nandamuri Harikrishna and several others in the past and Parakala is certainly not the last one.
