My Fourth Job as PRO to CM Dr M Channa Reddy-Part 2
Professions, Checkered Career, and Lessons
From Khangi School to Center for Excellence-7
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
(Wednesday, April 15, 2026)
(In continuation of previous chapter conclusion: I had to
offer to step down as PRO to CM and as a protest I preferred to go to office on
my scooter instead of Official Transport).
Due to the timely intervention of the Chief Minister’s
Secretary and Advisor, a larger institutional crisis (I thought so) was
averted. However, from that point onward, my continuation became largely
nominal, lasting only until Dr Channa Reddy himself was replaced. Amidst these
developments, there emerged a moment of cautious hope. As promised earlier by
Dr Marri Channa Reddy, a concrete proposal was initiated to absorb me into
Government service.
A file was moved recommending my appointment as Assistant
Director in the Information and Public Relations Department, with advance
increments to protect the emoluments I was then drawing. Unfortunately,
opposition from certain quarters, including one senior and widely respected IAS
officer, who was a confidante of several Chief Ministers irrespective of party
affiliations, resulted in the file being stalled. The same IAS officer became a
good friend of mine in later part of my profession.
Eventually, my file was kept aside by the Governor
Krishna Kant, who had succeeded Kumud Ben Joshi and who later became
Vice-President of India. In a gesture that revealed the depth of his personal
conviction, Dr Marri Channa Reddy took me early one morning, just before
leaving by helicopter for the Remote Area Development Program in Nizamabad
District, to meet the Governor personally. He requested that the file be
reconsidered in view of the assistance I had rendered to him.
The Governor did return the file for reconsideration and
resubmission. Yet, despite this goodwill and intervention, subsequent
developments ensured that the matter did not progress further. In retrospect, I
had come to view this outcome with acceptance and even gratitude, believing
that unseen grace often works in ways beyond immediate understanding. Against
this background and context, a deeper and more intimate recollection of my
association with Dr Marri Channa Reddy, placed here deliberately as a continuation,
flows from the same stream of experience, but pauses to dwell longer on the
man, his mind, his methods, and the enduring influence he had on my
understanding of public life.
Dr Marri Channa Reddy was not merely a political leader
occupying high office. He was a thinking politician in the truest sense of the
term. His conversations, even informal ones, were rarely casual. They carried
within them layers of historical awareness, administrative realism, and moral
reasoning. He spoke with the ease of one who had reflected deeply on power and
its consequences. When I first came to know him more closely, I realized that,
he possessed an uncommon ability to connect immediate political situations with
long-term social outcomes. This quality distinguished him sharply from many
contemporaries who were content to respond only to the pressures of the moment.
My association with him gradually moved beyond functional
interaction into a space of observation and learning. I watched closely how he
listened, often more than he spoke, and how he allowed others to fully
articulate their views before responding. Even when he disagreed, his
disagreement was measured, never dismissive. He believed that authority should
not silence alternative perspectives but absorb them, weigh them, and then
decide firmly. This approach shaped not only his governance but also the
expectations he had of those working around him, including me. I for myself
immensely benefited by this.
As Public Relations Officer, my role demanded absolute
clarity and restraint. Dr Channa Reddy did not believe in manufactured
narratives or cosmetic communication. He expected that what was conveyed to the
press and the public should reflect his genuine thinking, even when that
thinking was complex or uncomfortable. He was unafraid of nuance. On several
occasions, he would say that public communication loses credibility the moment
it begins to hide behind slogans. This belief placed a significant responsibility
on me, to listen carefully, understand precisely, and then translate thought
into language without distortion.
What follows now is intended to flow seamlessly from the
foregoing narrative, not as a repetition of events already described, but as an
expansion of their inner meaning. This section draws entirely from the
documented experiences, episodes, and public record relating to Dr Marri Channa
Reddy, yet it is presented afresh, as a reflective suffix, to complete the
picture of my fourth and most intense professional engagement as Public
Relations Officer to the Chief Minister.
Dr Marri Channa Reddy’s style of governance was anchored
in a rare synthesis of political conviction and administrative discipline. He
did not view politics merely as a contest for power, but as a continuous moral
negotiation between ideals and circumstances. Having traversed almost every
conceivable level of public life, Legislator, Minister in the State, Union Cabinet
Minister, Party Organizer, Governor, and twice Chief Minister, he brought to
office an accumulated wisdom that allowed him to see patterns where others saw
only isolated problems. This depth of experience was evident in every directive
he issued and, in every interaction, he had with officials, colleagues, or
members of the public.
One of the most distinctive aspects of his leadership was
his extraordinary clarity of thought. Decisions, even complex ones, were
articulated by him with remarkable precision. He disliked ambiguity, not
because he was impatient, but because he believed that lack of clarity was
often the root cause of administrative failure. Instructions from him were
rarely verbose, yet they carried an unmistakable sense of direction. Those who
worked closely with him quickly learnt that to truly understand him, one had to
listen attentively and think deeply. He did not spoon-feed explanations, and
instead, he expected intellectual engagement from those around him.
This clarity extended into his approach to public
communication. Every message issued from the Chief Minister’s Office bore his
unmistakable personal imprint. Unlike routine official correspondence that
often relies on formulaic language, Dr Channa Reddy’s communications reflected
thought, context, and sensitivity. Whether it was a letter of thanks to a
well-wisher, a condolence message on the passing of a colleague, or a
policy-related statement, he insisted that the content must convey sincerity
and substance. He believed that language carried moral weight, and that
careless words could erode public trust. That was a great learning point to me.
I witnessed this quality repeatedly during my tenure. On
several occasions, when drafts were placed before him, he would glance through
them swiftly, grasp their essence, and either approve them as they were or
suggest changes that sharpened their meaning. These interventions were never
cosmetic. They were aimed at aligning words with intent. He often reminded me,
implicitly and explicitly, that a Public Relations Officer’s responsibility was
not to embellish reality, but to present it honestly, intelligibly, and with
dignity.
His approach to speeches was equally revealing. Dr Channa
Reddy seldom relied on written texts. Even when protocol demanded a prepared
speech, he treated it as a broad framework rather than a script. His extempore
speeches, delivered in Telugu, English, or Urdu with equal ease, were
structured yet spontaneous, grounded in policy yet enlivened by anecdote. Each
speech served as an extension of governance, a platform to explain decisions,
recall past experiences, and connect policy choices with lived realities.
Nothing he said in public was casual. Every word was anchored in his
understanding of the state and its people.
The period of him as Chief Minister from 1989 to 1990 was
marked by significant political and administrative challenges. He inherited an
administration that was strained, both structurally and financially. Yet,
instead of lamenting constraints, he focused on rebuilding confidence, within
the bureaucracy, within the political establishment, and among the people. His
insistence on self-respect as a guiding principle of governance was not
rhetorical. It found expression in policies that sought to balance welfare with
self-reliance, relief with responsibility.
This philosophy was most vividly demonstrated during the
devastating cyclone that struck the coastal belt in May 1990. At a time when
personal health concerns demanded his attention, and when he was scheduled to
travel abroad for medical consultation, Dr Channa Reddy chose to remain in the
state. Even as his family proceeded to the airport, he stayed back to
personally oversee relief and rehabilitation efforts. This decision was not
made for public display, but it arose from an inner conviction that leadership,
especially in moments of crisis, required physical presence and moral
reassurance.
His handling of the cyclone aftermath revealed his
capacity to think beyond immediate relief. Recognizing the scale of
destruction, he articulated for the first time the idea that such calamities
should be treated as national calamities, warranting extraordinary support from
the Centre. This was not merely a semantic intervention, but it was a strategic
reframing that sought to redefine the relationship between states and the Union
in times of disaster. Under his direction, a comprehensive, multi-sectoral cyclone
reconstruction project was prepared, as an exercise that combined
administrative rigor with developmental vision. I had the privilege to
associate with it.
The presentation of this project to the visiting World
Bank team marked another significant dimension of his leadership. Dr Channa
Reddy did not approach international institutions with diffidence. He engaged
with them as an equal, armed with data, clarity, and conviction. The project,
commended by the World Bank Leadership, eventually resulted in substantial
assistance, secured in record time. Even during his brief hospitalization
abroad, he remained deeply engaged with this process, demonstrating an extraordinary
level of commitment to the state’s recovery.
Equally noteworthy was his relationship with the party
organization. Having rebuilt the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee at a
critical juncture, he understood the importance of cadre morale and
organizational discipline. Initiatives such as the mass mobilization programs and
the one-crore-signatures campaign were not symbolic gestures, but they were
strategic efforts to reconnect the party with the people and to restore
confidence among workers. His leadership during this phase reaffirmed his
reputation as a mass leader who could translate organizational strength into
electoral success.
For me, working in such close proximity to this process
was both a privilege and a profound learning experience. Beyond the visible
functions of my role, I was able to observe the subtle interplay between
politics, administration, and personality. I learnt that proximity to power can
illuminate character as much as it tests it. I also learnt that integrity,
while indispensable, often invites resistance in environments shaped by
competing interests and insecurities.
The challenges I faced during this period, including
resistance from certain quarters and the gradual erosion of my functional role,
were not merely personal setbacks. They were lessons in the complex human
dimensions of public life. Dr Channa Reddy, to his credit, remained consistent
in his personal regard and goodwill towards me. His effort to secure my
absorption into government service, including his unprecedented personal
intervention with the Governor, stands as testimony to his sense of fairness and
gratitude. That the effort did not ultimately succeed does not diminish its
significance, rather, it underscores the limits even a Chief Minister faces
within institutional frameworks.
Dr Marri Channa Reddy’s legacy, as I experienced it, lies
not only in the offices he held or the movements he led, but in the values, he
embodied, clarity of thought, courage of conviction, respect for institutions,
and an unwavering commitment to the people. To have witnessed these qualities
from close quarters remains one of the enduring privileges of my life. This
suffix is therefore not merely an addition to the narrative, but a closing
reflection, an attempt to place on record what it meant to work with, observe,
and learn from a leader of rare depth and distinction.
It is no exaggeration to state that without Dr Marri
Channa Reddy, the idea and eventual realization of Telangana would have lacked
its earliest moral, political, and ideological foundation. As the foremost
architect of the 1969 Telangana agitation, he carried the cause to its zenith,
articulating regional self-respect within the constitutional framework of
India. Even when compelled by political realities to withdraw the movement, he
secured safeguards and ensured that Telangana remained a living political
question, not a buried grievance. His vision, sacrifice, and foresight inspired
later generations of leaders and movements. In that enduring sense, history
must record with clarity and fairness that, there would have been no Telangana
but for Dr Marri Channa Reddy.
When I look back today, my fourth job as Public Relations
Officer to the Chief Minister stands as a profound lesson not merely as an
appointment, but as an apprenticeship in public life. It exposed me to the
highest standards of leadership as well as the harsh realities that often
accompany it. It taught me to value substance over position, learning over
recognition, and dignity over immediate gain. It taught me about proximity to
power and the loneliness it can bring, about loyalty and vulnerability, about
conviction and restraint, and about maintaining dignity when circumstances turn
adverse.
I share these reflections with my near and dear, my kith
and kin, and my close friends not as a record of position or proximity, but as
a reminder that integrity, sincerity, and inner balance are enduring assets.
Even when paths close unexpectedly, the learning they leave behind continues to
guide and strengthen us, especially in moments when life demands quiet courage
and renewed faith.
{{From my Forthcoming Book
PROFESSIONS, CHECKERED CAREER, AND LESSONS
(From Librarian to CPRO to CM KCR)
A Journey from Khangi School to Center for Excellence}}
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