IAS officers cannot defy CM orders: Praveen Prakash

Retired IAS officer Praveen Prakash, who called the shots and behaved like a supreme power centre during the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy regime in Andhra Pradesh, is trying to put up an innocent face, saying what he had done during his stint in the CMO was just to obey the orders of the then chief minister.

“The chief minister is the head of the executive and no IAS officers in the present system can defy his orders. All files need the chief minister’s approval,” Praveen Prakash said.

In a freewheeling interview with ABN Andhra Jyothy managing director Vemuri Radhakrishna on Sunday, Praveen Prakash said he had not acted on illegal political directions and described himself as an “employee with limits.”

Responding to criticism that he enabled political overreach — including painting state buil