How Rao became shadow of the CM
He had a meteoric rise and even rose to the stature of being called “shadow Chief Minister” as he called the shots when ailing J. Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals here. But with about nine months to retire, P. Rama Mohana Rao, state chief secretary, has been caught in the eye of storm with the IT sleuths initiating simultaneous raids on his premises and those of his relatives on Wednesday.
Rama Mohana Rao's strong connection with those at the helm and how he was elevated to the position of Chief Secretary from being secretary to the Chief Minister was indeed spectacular and took many by surprise
This 1985 batch-IAS officer first shot into prominence when he was made the private secretary to then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa when she assumed office in 2011. He served as her secretary till mid-2016. On June 8, 2016, in a surprise move, he was elevated as chief secretary superseding about 17 seniors and replacing K. Gnanadesikan (since suspended), a fortnight after AIADMK came to power.
Mohana Rao, an MA in economics and M. Com in cost accountancy, hails from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. He commenced his career as assistant collector in 1987 and over the years held several positions in various other departments. He also holds full additional charge of vigilance commissioner and commissioner for administrative reforms at present.
As head of Tamil Nadu's bureaucracy and also in terms of power and influence, Rao, it is alleged, had cleared all the contracts awarded through various departments and had oversaw the transfer of the IAS and the IPS officials. Income-Tax raids sent shock waves across the corridors of power on Wednesday as sleuths swooped down on the home of the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, P. Rama Mohana Rao. I-T officials raided his house in Anna Nagar as well as his office at the secretariat.
Two of his personal assistants at his office — Sekar and Kumar — were taken for questioning.
Income tax officials were tightlipped about the seizure during the raids at Mr Rao’s residences, though sources said that `30 lakh cash and gold 5 kg were seized from one of his relative’s house.
“We were not expecting big seizure from his premises. But the searches were conducted based on documents and statements from Sekhar Reddy. Searches were the natural procedure we have to follow. These kinds of searches will help us to build up the case,” an income tax official said.
Documents seized during the searches conducted in the premises of Mr Reddy had reportedly led the I-T sleuths to the doors of the chief secretary.
Mr Rao was appointed the chief secretary in June this year by late Jayalalithaa. He had served as private secretary to Jayalalithaa during 2011-2016 and had a meteoric rise to the post of chief secretary.
High drama prevailed outside Mr Rao’s residence in posh Anna Nagar as paramilitary was called in during the time of the raid. It is understood that the Income Tax department sought the help of the force since a Chief Secretary was involved and that he could have influenced the state police if they were called in.
The Enforcement Directorate also registered a money laundering case against Sekhar Reddy after the income tax department shared documents with the agency.
It may be noted that the CBI had registered a case against Reddy, his business associates Srinivasalu and Prem and few unnamed bankers on Tuesday after `34 crore of the total `131 crore cash seized from his premises were found to be of new `2,000 notes.