TS Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions secretary and senior IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar has announced quitting government service by seeking voluntary retirement on Monday, all of a sudden setting off speculations about his imminent jump into politics.
Mr. Kumar belonged to 1995 batch of IPS and currently in the rank of Additional Director General of Police. He pioneered SWAEROES movement with a network of thousands of social welfare hostel students. SW stands for social welfare and AEROES — Greek for sky. “Sky is the limit” is the theme of the movement. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.
The IPS officer announced his exit via a tweet in the afternoon: “After 26 years of serving the motherland as an IPS officer, I have applied today for voluntary retirement to pursue my passion for social justice and equality with more vigour at my own pace. I thank you all for standing by me throughout my career.”
It was followed up with a post — ‘Infinite Thanks’ in Telugu and English — where he stated that he was sharing his decision to voluntarily retire from government service with a heavy heart and joy. “I have mailed my request to the Chief Secretary. It was not easy to arrive at this life-changing decision, given my humble beginning and the arduous journey to become an IPS officer. However, the pure pleasure of following my passion hereafter has helped me overcome this uncertainty,” he said.
The officer, longest serving secretary of the welfare educational institutions and also transforming them, first expressed his gratitude to his family and the governments of undivided Andhra Pradesh and Telangana “for enabling him to serve the weak, voiceless and undeserved of the country”.
Then, he thanked the police and welfare departments, staff of the institutions, urging them to live by the oath taken daily about loving students as their own children. Students were told not to give up. “Future generations will judge my contribution to society” as there were several conspiracies too.
Mr. Kumar vowed to dedicate “the rest of his life to unfinished dreams of doyens of social justice, Mahatma Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Kanshiram and many more torch bearers”. He was not available for comment even as political and bureaucratic circles plus the social media began to discuss his next move, which party he would be join and why.
