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US Consulate Shut For Public From 15-21 November

The US Consulate in Mumbai, which is currently located at Lincoln House in Breach Candy and the American Centre at Churchgate will shift to a new facility in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Lincoln House will close its doors to the public on November 15 and reopen on November 21 at BKC. The consulate cannot provide visa services between November 15 and 21. Consular officers will host a webchat on November 9 at 7pm to answer specific questions about the shift and its effect on consular services. The American Library at Marine Lines will reopen shortly after consular operations begin at the new consulate. The new consulate compound will house all US government offices in Mumbai, including the department of state, foreign commercial service, food and drug administration and the foreign agricultural service. It will also include the Consul General’s residence. The new consulate features state of the art green technology, including high-efficiency lighting, a gray-water recycling system, and a self contained waste water treatment facility. The number of interview windows for services to visa applicants and US citizens at the new facility will increase from 13 to 44.

Has Kiran Govt Really Slipped Into Minority?

Former TDP leader and MLA Dr. S Venugopalachari filed a petition in the High Court alleging that the chief minister Kirankumar Reddy has lost eligibility to continue in the post as his government has slipped into minority. The court on Wednesday heard the arguments of senior counsel Mr Ramachandra Rao on behalf of Dr. Venugopalachari. The court adjourned further hearing on the petition till 9 November. The petitioner, in his writ, had told the court that the ruling party's strength in the AP Legislative Assembly headed by Mr Kiran is only 143. But the required number of MLAs for formation of the government is 147. Counsel for the petitioner argued that the congress government had original strength of 156 MLAs but later the number went up to 159 as three MLAs joined it. It again went up to 175 following the merger of the PRP with the congress. "However, the number came down to 147 as 26 congress MLAs and two ministers resigned from the party," argued Ramachandra Rao, the Counsel. He said that the numbers again came down to 143 three days ago when three MLAs quit the congress party and one MLA died all of a sudden pushing the congress government into minority. The counsel also urged the court to grant an injunction restraining Mr Kiran from functioning as the CM, pending disposal of the writ petition. Contrary to Venugopalachary's contention, the Hon'ble Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Monday categorically declared that the Congress government in the state is in a majority and the need for confidence vote doesn't arise. He even added that nobody had told him that the government has been reduced to a minority. When asked about the resignation of 26 MLAs from the Assembly, Mr Narasimhan shot back saying, "The resignations have not been accepted." Political observers say that it is all gimmicks played by the political leaders who aspire to be in limelight some way or the other. It is everybody's knowledge that as long as Speaker holds back resignations of MLAs, the Kiran Kumar government has nothing to worry about.

KVP Likely Tool For YSR Cong to Topple Kiran Govt

Rajya Sabha MP K V P Ramchandra Rao was considered almost an alter ego of former chief minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy. Even though KVP is in political oblivion ever since N Kiran Kumar Reddy took over as chief minister in November 2010, he still has over 20 MLAs in his command. It is said that KVP and his 20 loyal MLAs are being woed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy camp to topple the Kiran Kumar Reddy government. To substantiate this, the sources point out that during the last one month, Y V Subba Reddy, Jagan's close relative and YSR Congress leader, has called on KVP at least on two occasions to extract some support from him. Apart from Subba Reddy, other leaders who have met KVP on behalf of Jagan included Bhuma Nagi Reddy and Ravindranath Reddy. "Jagan wants to increase the anti-Kiran votes in the assembly ahead of the winter session so that he can pull down the government and force a mid-term election. Therefore, KVP is not being asked to quit the Congress and join ranks with Jagan, but merely wooed to extend the support of the Congress MLAs loyal to him to vote against the CM in case of a trust vote," said a leader. The main advantage Jagan has that neither KVP nor his loyal MLAs are in the good books of Kiran Kumar or the leaders in New Delhi. "KVP has been trying to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the last four months, but with no success. This despite him having excellent rapport with AICC leaders Motilal Vohra and Ghulam Nabi Azad. The MLAs backing KVP are also said to be frustrated at being ignored by Kiran Kumar and could be ripe candidates to stage a coup," said a senior Congress leader. Regarding alleged differences between KVP and Jagan, one close aide of Jagan said the two leaders had had differences earlier, but in the changed political scenario, both of them are ready to bury them and work together. Perhaps in the next few weeks, further meetings between KVP and Jagan or their aides can cement any joint political strategy being worked upon by them in order to spell trouble for Kiran Kumar Reddy.

CBI Notice To Jagan in Gali Illegal Mining Case

Kadapa MP and YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's alleged business links with former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, currently lodged in Chanchalguda jail, have once again surfaced. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case of illegal mining by Obulapuram Mining Company owned by Gali brothers, has summoned Jagan to appear before it for questioning on 4 November. The CBI Joint Director V.V. Lakshminarayana confirmed that the notice has been served on Jagan Mohan Reddy. The CBI is likely to question him about his alleged business links with the mining baron. According to sources, the CBI officials would question Jagan over the links of companies Red Gold and R.R. Global have with OMC. Jagan reportedly has stakes in Red Gold and R.R. Global. The CBI may also look into possible links between the cases of Jagan and Janardhana Reddy. This is the first time that Jagan would be questioned by the CBI since the arrest of Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law Sep 5.

Telangana Comes in Way of Ranji Match

The game of cricket too is being hovered by clouds of Telangana agitation. Some protesters purported to belong to 'Telangana Cricket Joint Action Committee' (TCJAC) staged a sit-in in the middle of the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium where the Hyderabad Ranji Trophy team was practising. This had put the already beleaguered Hyderabad Cricket Association officials in an embarrassment as former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was overseeing the practice session at that moment. As stunned coach Sunil Joshi and dazed security officials stood watching, a group of eight members of the TCJAC, led by Jimmy Babu, swooped on to the practice wickets and squatted on the pitches, protesting against the alleged selection blunders while picking the Ranji squad for the first two matches. The protesters said they would not allow the Ranji game against Jharkhand from Thursday to be held if some of the players who had been dropped were not recalled. They also questioned the appointment of Joshi as the coach of the Ranji team. However, police intervention saved the day as they cleared the field of all the protesters, but no arrests were made. Last month, during the India vs England oneday series, it was rumoured that TRS chief KCR struck a deal with BCCI for a huge amount to adjust the dates of TJAC called rail roko protest not to come in way of the match played at Uppal Stadium on 14 October. Earlier in 2010 also, the Telangana agitation had driven away all IPL matches from Hyderabad.

Wakf Lands Encroached in Hyderabad, Kurnool: Notices Served

The State Wakf Board (SWB) discovered that over the years a large chunk of its lands has been encroached upon in Hyderabad and Kurnool cities. The board issued notices to about 2000 persons who have reportedly encroached upon 423 acre of prime wakf land near Ramoji Film City on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway. This is the second such big bunch of notices that has been slapped by the SWB in the last fortnight. On October 18, the board issued notices to 2,262 persons whom it claimed had encroached upon its properties. Most of these properties are located in Hyderabad and Kurnool. Minority welfare minister Ahmedullah Syed told mediapersons on Tuesday that he along with chairman of the Wakf Board, Syed Shah Ghulam Afzal Biabani, surveyed the land that had been endowed to Almas mosque in Devalamma Nagaram village in Choutuppal mandal. "Our enquiries revealed that some real estate players had plotted big chunks of land and sold it to gullible persons. On the basis of investigation we have decided to issue notices to all the encroachers," he said. Chairman Biabani said the board had written to the tahsildar of Choutuppal mandal asking him to take action in the matter. The land has been with the mosque since it was built during the Qutub Shahi times, he said. The endowment was subsequently confirmed by Asaf Jahi rulers. He said as the matter is still being investigated it is difficult to pinpoint the names of the persons, including politicians, who were behind such large-scale encroachment. However, neither the minister nor the chairman could say why the SWB remained silent when the land was being encroached upon. Sources in the board said that some officials in the board colluded with the encroachers and kept the matter under wraps for a long time. An official of the board said that the land, worth nearly Rs 1000 crore, was lying vacant and unprotected for a long time and it fell victim to the real estate boom. The land value in that village and its surroundings is between Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore per acre. "There are several such wakf properties that are unprotected. Sometimes their records are also not found with the board," he explained.

2012 Panchangam: Experts Agree on Festival Dates

For the past several years there has been a lot of confusion going on in respect of important festival dates. While one almanac (Panchangam) showed a particular date for a festival, other almanacs had some different date. Even government was not able to decide which almanac to be taken as the standard one for fixing as festival dates. Now that confusion has been cleared with around thirty almanac experts meeting in the capital to arrive at a consensus pertaining to festival dates. Thirty Panchanga experts from across the state took part in the brainstorming session to standardize the calendar. "It was confusion worst confounded on festival dates all these years. This meeting was held to thrash out differences and arrive at an almanac which would be devoid of any glitches," an expert said. These meetings are a routine affair to arrive at a consensus but every year there was some disagreement or the other on the dates of important festivals, leading to confusion among people. Disputes always arose on the dates of Krishnashtami and Srirama Navami. In the last couple of years, there were differences over the festival dates of Vinayaka Chavithi and Sankranti too. While Vaishnava Panchanga experts write Panchangam relying on 'tidhis', non-Vaishnava pundits follow 'nakshatras' (stars). This predicament was getting reflected with festivals falling in different days. Last year, there was a lot of confusion over Krishnashtami. While the pundits gave a particular date, the government declared some other day as holiday. Most of the Panchanga kartas pronounced that Krishnashtami would be celebrated on September 9 as ashtami starts in the afternoon of September 9, 2012, and ends the next day. Though the government has declared holiday for Krishnastami on September 10, the new almanac would mark Sept. 9 as Krishnashtami. Similarly, some Panchanga experts felt that Diwali should be celebrated on November 12 in 2012. But most of them agreed that November 13 would be Diwali date and this would be conveyed to the government. Senior Panchanga exponent S Hanumantaha Chari, who attended the meeting said "We could iron out our differences and arrive at a consensus on the festival dates. We would forward the list of festival holidays to the government soon."

Gali Petitions For Special Status in Jail

Mining baron and former minister of Karnataka, Gali Janardhan Reddy is currently lodged in Hyderabad Chanchalguda jail along with his brother-in-law B V Srinivasa Reddy. Both Janardhan Reddy and Srinivasa Reddy have been charged by the CBI for illegal activities through their Obulapuram Mining Company. The duo on Monday filed a petition in the CBI court seeking a special class prisoner status for them in the jail in accordance with Rule 730 of the AP Prisons Rules 1979. The development comes in the wake of the CBI court on Monday extending the judicial remand of both Janardhana Reddy and Srinivas Reddy till November 14 after hearing them through video conferencing. While moving the petition seeking a special status, Gali referred to his status as a businessman and as an income and wealth tax assesse, legislator and a former Karnataka minister and cited the CBI’s own account of story when it searched his house on September 5 at Bellary and its consequent intimation letter to the chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council on the day of his arrest and the details spread out by CBI in his remand report etc. Quoting prison rules, he urged the special judge of the CBI court to refer the matter to the district collector for the purpose of classifying him as a special class prisoner and accord him the corresponding jail facilities. According to jail sources, there are separate categories for convicts and undertrial prisoners in the jail. Convicts are classified into A, B and C categories. Undertrial prisoners are broadly classified as ordinary and special class and Gali and Srinivas are currently designated as ordinary prisoners. If and when they are granted special status, their cells will be provided with some furniture, mosquito nets, fans, mattresses etc. They will also become eligible for a special diet as well as non-vegetarian food. Special class prisoners are entitled for newspapers and magazines.

Anna to Fast Again if Jan Lokpal Bill Not Passed

Continuing his maun vrat, the 73 year old crusader against corruption, Anna Hazare blogged his ultimatum on Tuesday (01 November 2011). He warned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the winter session of the Parliament, he will again go on hunger strike. Hazare also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and also sent copies of the letter to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Law Minister Salman Khurshid. Anna on Monday said that he may break his silence soon by ending his vrat in three to four days. "In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'," Anna wrote in his latest blog. He has also written that he will tour different states to meet his followers and hold discussions with people who have been reading his blog. Further on his blog, Anna wrote, "The thought of giving up on my 'maun vrat' is playing in my mind. In the next 3 to 4 days I might end my 'maun vrat'. Crores of people have turned to reading my blog - hence I think it would only seem appropriate that I end my 'maun' and hold talks with them." Sources said that Hazare had been advised to give up his 'maun vrat' by his doctor. Dr KH Sancheti, a noted physician from Mumbai, who examined Hazare at his native village Ralegan Siddhi on Saturday, said that the activist's blood pressure was on a higher side, which could be due to mental stress.

AP Formation Day Under Heavy Police Bandobust

The state of Andhra Pradesh is celebrating its 56th formation day on Tuesday - 01-November 2011. The official celebrations of formation day will take place at NTR Stadium in Hyderabad from 9 AM to 10.40 AM. The chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will hoist the national flag and start the celebrations at the stadium in the morning. Anticipating trouble from Telangana activists, police have made elaborate arrangements at the venue. In view of the prevailing situation, Hyderabad police commissioner A K Khan on Monday visited NTR stadium to personally supervise the arrangements. Traffic diversions have been announced on all roads leading to the venue. Talking to the media, Khan said prohibitory orders were in place in the city and stringent action would be initiated against anybody trying to disrupt the event. "As part of the security arrangements, we will be deploying 1,500 police personnel, including paramilitary forces, in and around the venue," Khan added. The reason for the high alert was partly due to the protest call given by Telangana Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi Vibhagam ( TRSVV) activists. The activists asked all educational institutions to hoist black flags and also announced to take out a rally from OU Arts College to the Martyrs Memorial. Police have devised a three-layer bandobust strategy to stop agitators from entering the venue. Police personnel would be present inside the stadium at all possible entry points and all roads leading to the venue. Traffic has been diverted in all the routes leading to NTR stadium.

jupalli krishna rao telangana bhavan press meet

Congress is Delaying Telangana Formation: Jupalli

Speaking to media at Telangana Bhavan, the TRS new entrant and former Congress minister, Jupalli Krishan Rao said that the Congress party is delibrately delaying the formation of separate Telangana state. With folded hands, he appealed to the Telangana region ministers and MLAs to respect people's sentiments by submitting their resignations. He alleged that the Congress party has buckled under pressure from Seemandhra leaders and is delaying formation of Telangana. It is very unfortunate that the ministers from the region are still clinging to their posts in spite of people are throwing chappals on them. He recalled the incident when he along with fellow ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Sridhar Babu went to OU campus and promised the students that we will fight till Telangana is achieved. "When Komatireddy and myself have resigned, why Sridhar Babu is still continuing in his post?", he questioned. He justified his action of quitting the party saying that when party takes to do things which are anti-public, it is not wrong to leave it. Jupalli alleged that Sridhar Babu siding with Seemandhara leaders and overlooking the aspirations of Telangana students and people. He also alleged that MPs Rayapati sambasiva Rao and Lagadapati Rajagopal are blocking Telangana formation with their money-power. MLAs T Rajaiah and Somarapu Satyanarayana, who also resigned yesterday along with Jupalli, participated in the press meet and supported Jupalli's statements.

kiran government fall jupudi prabhakar rao

Kiran Government Fall Imminent: Jupudi

Speaking at a press meet in Rajahmundry, YSR Congress leader and MLC Jupudi Prabhakar Rao said that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's government is going to fall in next 20 days. With 34 MLAs resigning so far, the government has gone into minority, he said. Jupudi also said that there is every possibility of a president's rule being imposed in the state. In that event, it is almost certain that Mr. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will become the chief minister in another six months or whenever the polls are conducted thereafter. Recalling BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya's words, Jupudi said that it was the curse of Telangana people only that the government has gone into minority. This government is ready to fall at any moment.

Rajeswara Reddy MLA Dies of Heart Attack

The Congress associate member and the Mahbubnagar independent MLA, Mr N. Rajeswara Reddy, 55, died in his sleep in the early hours of Sunday following a massive heart attack. He is survived by his wife Vijayalaxmi and one daughter. Rajeswara Reddy who was earlier in the BJP and the Praja Rajyam had contested in the 2009 Assembly elections as an Independent and won by defeating his nearest TRS candidate. Later, he joined the Congress and continued as its associate member. Several dignitaries including the PCC chief, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, MPs Mr Kesava Rao, Mr Manda Jagannadham, ministers Mr K. Jana Reddy, Ms D.K. Aruna and hundreds of leaders cutting across party lines paid their last respects to the departed MLA in Mahbubnagar. The Chief Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy, Assembly Speaker Mr Nadendla Manohar, TRS chief and Mahbubnagar MP, Mr K. Chandrasekhara Rao, condoled his death. The Chief Minister in a condolence message said Rajeswara Reddy did yeomen services to sports in AP as vice-president of State Athletics Association and State Olympic Association.

Nation Pays Tributes to Indira Gandhi on Death anniversary

Today, 31-10-2011, on the 27th death anniversary of former priime minister of India smt. Indira Gandhi, the country led by President Smt. Pratibha Patil fondly remembers her and pays its respects. Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, who served as the prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966-77) and a fourth term (1980-84) was assassinated on 31 October in 1984. In New Delhi this morning, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul paid floral tributes to the late leader at her memorial 'Shakti Sthal' on the banks of river Yamuna. 27 years ago, Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards - Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, who fired 33 bullets into her chest and abdomen, killing her at her own residence. Beant was killed in the gun fire. Satwant Singh was arrested and later sentenced to death along with conspirator Kehar Singh. The sentence was carried out on 6 January, 1989. The assassination which changed the history of India was said to have been motivated by Operation Blue Star, an attack on Sikh separatists holed up in Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. At twelve years of age, Indira became the leader of a children’s group, whose purpose was to help end British control in India. In 1938, Indira finally joined the Indian National Congress Party, something she always longed to do. In 1942, she married journalist Feroze Gandhi. Soon after the couple was married, they were sent to prison on charges of subversion by the British. Noted for her charismatic authority and political astuteness, Gandhi adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that were begun by her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the prime minister after India won its independence in 1947. As a minister, Indira Gandhi encouraged and started a family planning program. She also promoted the views of Nehru to establish India’s stability and security interests as independent from those of the nuclear superpowers, by authorizing the development of nuclear weapons in 1967. She was also the leader who transformed India’s chronic food shortages into surplus production of wheat, rice, cotton and milk through the Green Revolution. However, Gandhi was also the only Indian Prime Minister to have declared a state of emergency in order to ‘rule by decree’ and the only Indian Prime Minister to have been imprisoned after holding that office. She became unpopular among the masses after implementing ‘emergency’ and the general feeling was that she used the emergency provisions to grant herself extraordinary powers. On Nehru’s death in 1964, Gandhi was elected to Parliament in his place. After acting as Minister of Information and Broadcasting (1964-6), Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister on the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966. In 1971, her popularity made her win again by an enormous margin. The second female in the world to hold the office of prime minister, after Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, Indira Gandhi remains the world’s second longest serving female Prime Minister as of 2011. As if she had a premonition, she said sometime before her death "If I die a violent death as some fear and a few are plotting, I know the violence will be in the thought and the action of the assassin, not in my dying……!" The courage, belief and faith in her words shall always inspire the nation and will be remembered forever.

The Polavaram Project Tenders Drama

Ever since the Polavaram project has been conceived, it started attracting one controversy or the other. For years it has been lying in cold storage, till late YSR took initiative and started working on it. Now the project has again got into one with Kiran Kumar government awarding its contract to SEW Patel–AMR, a joint venture company. The other joint venture company that participated in the bid, CGGC-Soma, approached the High Court aggrieved with the decision of the engineer-in-chief claiming that the company which got the contract did not possess required expertise and the qualifications. The A P High Court on Friday sought to know from the state government by Saturday whether it will answer the technical objections raised by the petitioners. Denying the allegations, counsel for SEW company, P P Rao told the court that the petitioner had made a representation with the authorities immediately after the technical bid process was over but without waiting for a response, knocked the doors of the HC. Arguing the case for Soma company, senior counsel C V Mohan Reddy said that the representation made by them was only a casual one and in fact the bid document did not contain any such provision for representation. The state can go ahead with the agreement without even bothering to give a reply to the representation, he said. Now the question is, why the said aggrieved company knocked the doors of High Court prematurely and what it actually seeks from the court. It is quite common when a huge project work is bagged by a rival company, its competitors tend to create fuss over the issue. But in this case, it is clearly obvious that professional rivalry is not the real reason behind raking up of the controversy. It can not and will not ever be proved that KCR has bagged the contract in lieu of Telangana nor he is going to lose much if the court cancels the tenders. For the time being focus has been shifted to Polavaram project contract sidelining the T-issue. While pro-Telangana protagonists will be busy debating whether KCR has ditched them, others can happily get back to their normal life. Government too can heave a sigh of relief and get busy in further manipulations. It's a win-win proposition for everyone, say the analysts.

CBI Grills Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy in connection with an illegal mining case involving former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy. A team of CBI officials Friday night questioned the minister in her office for two hours till 11 p.m., sources said. The investigating agency quizzed Sabita regarding the mining leases given to Janardhana's Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), allegedly involved in illegal mining in Anantapur district bordering Karnataka. Sabita was minister for mines in Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's cabinet from 2004 to 2009, when OMC was granted leases and permits for iron ore mining. The home minister was questioned soon after CBI once again grilled Indian Administrative Service officer Srilakshmi for four hours at its office. She was the mining secretary when OMC was granted leases. Janardhana Reddy, who owns OMC, and his brother-in-law and OMC Managing Director Srinivasa Reddy are already lodged at Chanchalguda Central Jail in Hyderabad. They were arrested by CBI Sep 5 from Bellary in Karnataka. By questioning Sabita and Srilakshmi, the CBI has stepped up investigations into the illegal mining case registered in 2009.

Telangana Congress Panel Splits

Alleging that the Telangana Congress Steering Committee instead of drawing up it's own agitation programmes, has had been following the diktats of the TRS-led Telangana Political JAC, 17 Telangana Congress MLAs on Friday decided to take up separate agitation for the sake of Telangana statehood. The 17 T-MLAs, most of whom are first time elects, met at a private hotel and decided to go along with the state government. After their deliberations, they said that from now onwards, they will intensify their efforts for Telangana by directly interacting with party high command and work in union with the party, government and its policies and programmes. However, they decided that they would also stay away from the State Formation Day celebrations in order to respect the sentiments of the region. They also condemned the allegations of TRS MLAs that Telangana Congress MLAs were bribed by the Chief Minister.

Former Minister Jupalli to Join TRS For Telangana

Former endowments minister Jupalli Krishna Rao is all set to quit the Congress and join Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Sunday to take up separate Telangana cause in a big way. Along with him, six former ZPTC and MPTC members and some minority cell leaders, besides hundreds of his followers are also likely to join the TRS in Hyderabad. Sources said hectic parleys are on in Jupalli’s constituency of Kollapur where the former minister has been camping for the last three days to mobilize supporters. Though Jupalli had contemplated joining TRS two months ago, his supporters dissuaded him. Observers said Jupalli had made his intentions clear on Thursday itself during a press conference at Kollapur when he said he won't hesitate to quit the Congress in support of the Telangana cause. Highly-placed sources told that Jupalli is also in talks with Nagarkurnool MP Manda Jagannatham to woo him to the TRS camp. Sources said Jupalli held a secret meeting with KCR a week back where he expressed his willingness to join the party. Analysts said since Jupalli hails from the same community (Velama) of KCR, switching of sides from Congress to TRS should be a smooth affair. Insiders said the main reason for Jupalli joining TRS is the total dominance of district politics by minister D K Aruna. Ever since Jupalli resigned as minister on May 30 this year, Aruna has been trying to dominate him. She even got him arrested when he tried to undertake a padayatra in her Gajwel constituency. Upset over the allocation of endowments portfolio, Jupalli first tendered his resignation letter to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi on March 3 this year. Sources said Jupalli is also planning to join former minister Komatireddy’s indefinite fast in Nalgonda.

Team Anna Crucial Core Committee Meet Today

India Against Corruption activist Anna Hazare's core group will meet today (29 October 2011) to debate on how to strategise its future cource and also whether the team should continue in its present form. Though today's meet is considered crucial in many ways, it is taking place without the presence of Anna Hazare. It still remains a big question - will Team Anna be revamped after allegations of financial misconduct against some of its key members. Incidentally, Anna has also hinted at an expansion of his Core Committee. Anna is still continuing with his silence (Moun-vrat), but Raju Parulkar, who helps him blog, said that Anna Hazare wants the core group expanded. Anna wants the core group to be more representative, but has put a condition that the members must not have perceived self interests. Moreover, another core committee member Dr. Kumar Vishwas wrote a letter to Anna stating that the repeated attacks on each of the members is going on unabated and is distracting attention of the Team. Dr. Kumar even argued in his letter that the committee be disbanded. Apart from outside attacks, there seem to be serious differences between the members. While Anna himself have repeatedly disagreed with Prashant Bhushan's views on Kashmir, allegations against Kiran Bedi have also proven to be an embarrassment for the team. Therefore, today's meeting also raises the question whether genuine differences are proving irreconcilable making revamping of the Team inevitable.

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