Telangana Political Turmoil: KTR Accuses Congress of "Mafia Rule" After Top IAS Officer's Sudden Exit

KTR has called for the BJP government to step in and launch an investigation.

The voluntary retirement of Telangana's Revenue Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi has ignited a fresh confrontation between the ruling Congress and opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Shortly after the official's retirement announcement, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao proclaimed that "neither industrialists nor IAS officers are safe in Telangana".

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), KTR alleged that Rizvi opted for voluntary retirement "due to a dispute between the Chief Minister and the Minister over a Rs 500 crore tender".

"The Minister wrote to the Chief Secretary, requesting that Rizvi's voluntary retirement not be granted and that an investigation be initiated against him for misconduct... Mafia rule prevails in the state. The BJP government should intervene and order an investigation by a sitting judge, so that the truth comes out," KTR added in his social media statement.

Rizvi's voluntary retirement application has already received government approval, though it has triggered widespread speculation in bureaucratic and political circles.

The IAS officer has not publicly revealed his reasons for stepping down. However, sources indicate tensions existed between Rizvi and Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao regarding a pending tender for holograms intended for liquor bottles. Rizvi also serves as the Excise Secretary.

A letter from the minister to Chief Secretary K Rama Krishna Rao has emerged, apparently accusing Rizvi of deliberately impeding the tender process for the Rs 100 crore project. The minister also allegedly claims that Rizvi permitted a former vendor, whose contract ended in June 2019, to continue supplying holograms for over six years.

In this letter, the minister reportedly advised against accepting Rizvi's voluntary retirement request and instead recommended initiating legal and disciplinary proceedings against him.

Rizvi, a 2001-batch IAS officer respected for his administrative competence, experienced four transfers during the two-year Congress administration in Telangana.