Appointment of Suryadevara to TS Legislature Secretariat triggers social media debate

Suryadevara Prasanna Kumar was appointed adviser to the Legislature Secretariat to assist Legislative Council chairman G Sukhender Reddy and Speaker G. Prasad Kumar in legislative matters

Hyderabad: The first of its kind appointment of an advisor to the Telangana State Legislature Secretariat is being viewed as a “strange recruitment” and has become a topic of debate on social media.

Suryadevara Prasanna Kumar was appointed adviser to the Legislature Secretariat to assist Legislative Council chairman G. Sukhender Reddy and Speaker G. Prasad Kumar in legislative matters.

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Even as many are wondering why this appointment was made, some have pointed out that Kumar has experience in the legislature, judiciary, and executive and has worked for 30 years in different positions including as an officer on special duty (OSD) to the Lok Sabha Speaker during the tenure of Somnath Chatterjee. During his tenure with the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Lower House had started the Lok Sabha TV channel.

Suryadevara, a Joint Director in Prasar Bharati, was appointed as Officer on Special Duty in the rank of an Additional Registrar in the role of a media consultant during the tenure of former CJI NV Ramana in 2021. But reversing the appointment, the Supreme Court later revoked his appointment as a permanent employee of the court.

Suryadevara was said to be a close associate of TDP leader and former AP Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu. Some have alleged on social media that his appointment to the Telangana Legislature Secretariat was aimed at placating lobbies that worked for Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.