TDP leader V Anand Surya has been appointed chairman in Rao's place.
No reason was assigned for removing Rao from the post, but what apparently triggered the sudden action were a few posts that the former chief secretary 'shared' on his personal Facebook page that were found to be critical of the Chandrababu Naidu administration.
Rao was appointed chairman of the corporation for a three-year period in February 2016.
The retired bureaucrat said he had been seeking an appointment with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for the last six months to discuss issues related to Brahmin welfare.
The former IAS officer said he had himself sought the post to serve the Brahmin community.