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Published Feb 25, 2025 | 4:37 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 25, 2025 | 4:37 PM
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. (X)
It was a rare incident for the general public in Andhra Pradesh.
In a state where the fiats of political bosses are considered sacred and cast in stone, an official defying the order of the chief minister is seen as an unimaginable sacrilege.
Yet, Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) chairperson AR Anuradha did the unimaginable. She held the Group II main examinations as scheduled on Sunday, 23 February, ignoring Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s postponement directive.
Naidu directed the APPSC to postpone the examination based on the demand of a section of candidates. The job aspirants accused the government body of a skewed implementation of the roster system for reservations in various categories when the notification for recruitment to 899 posts was issued in December 2023.
Under apparent pressure, Naidu directed Anuradha to postpone the examination. She ignored the directive.
Incidentally, those who opposed the conduct of the examination were candidates who could not make it to the mains. But those who made it to the mains — over 92,000 of them — had no objection and did not demand any postponement.
Even the high court had said that the APPSC could go ahead with the conduct of the examination as scheduled.
When Anuradha conducted the examination, Naidu was very much annoyed. But since the APPSC is an autonomous institution, he could not do anything about Anuradha’s refusal — or so the public believed.
However, there is another angle to the story. Whether autonomous or not, no one defies the chief minister. Many in Andhra Pradesh believe that the APPSC chairperson’s refusal to defer the examination was yet another instance of Naidu’s political shrewdness.
He did not want to hurt the students who made it to the Group II mains by postponing the examination and, at the same time, was not ready to ruffle those who were opposed to its conduct — especially since elections to two graduate MLC seats are slated for 20 March.
The speculation mill is working overtime that Naidu wanted to be nice to both sections of candidates to win their support in the election, and hence, he issued the directive but allowed the APPSC chairperson to hold the examination as scheduled.
The speculation could not be entirely ruled out since Naidu is known for trying to get the best of both worlds.
Anuradha, a retired IPS officer, had led the state’s intelligence wing during Naidu’s previous tenure as chief minister. Naidu handpicked her to head the APPSC in October 2024.
