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AP By Elections: Polling Officers Arrested in Ongole

A couple of poling officers in a booth are caught forcing voters to vote for YSR Congress. EC Bhanwarlal has ordered District collector for an enquiry into the happening before ordering for their arrest. For by-poll scheduled in 18 assembly constituencies and 1 Lok Sabha seat, polling has started with a boom. At polling booth No.60 in Ongole constituency, a presiding officer K.Seshagiri, and micro observer S.Seshagiri are directing voters to vote for Jagan's party before casting their own vote for YSR-C.  Caught red handed on a webcasting, Election Commissioner has suspended both of them immediately from services. After finishing their enquiry, district collector has ordered for the arrest off these two persons. Politicians from the area are saying that YSR Congress has many such coverts and admirers in poll booths across all the 18 constituencies.  

AP By Polls: Congress Hopeful to win 4 Seats

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana on Monday met ministers and other senior Congress leaders in charge of the bypoll constituencies to take stock of the party’s chances in the byelections. The two held separate meetings with the party leaders and asked for their assessments and collected the latest inputs on the party’s chances of winning in Tuesday’s bypolls to 18 Assembly seat and the Nellore Lok Sabha constituency.     It is reliably learnt that both the leaders have come to a conclusion that the Congress will win in at least four Assembly constituencies: Allagadda, Tirupati, Ramachandrapuram and Narsapuram. Going by the political situation, including the arrest of YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the leaders felt winning four seats against several odds like the petrol hike, drinking water and power shortage and price rise, will boost the morale of the Congress cadre and government. The leaders also felt there will be no threat to Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy’s leadership as they were sure the Congress would win in at least four Assembly seats. It may be mentioned here that the Congress could not win a single seat in the series of bypolls held during the last two-and-a-half years. Among those who met the Chief Minister and the PCC chief were ministers Erasu Pratap Reddy, T.G. Venkatesh, Kondru Mur-ali, Pitani Satyanarayana and former minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy.

Rafael Nadal Sets French Open Record: Wins Seventh Time

Rafael Nadal of Spain on Monday set record of winning the French Open Mens Single for by winning for the seventh time. Nadal clinched the title defeating world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and shattering the Serb's dream of Grand Slam history. In a final pushed into a third week for only the second time because of Sunday's rain, the Spanish world number two, playing in his 16th Grand Slam final, also took his Paris record to a staggering 52 wins against just one loss. This Victory allowed him to break the tie for six French Opens he shared with Bjorn Borg. It was the 26-year-old's 11th Grand Slam title, taking him one behind Roy Emerson, three off Pete Sampras and five away from the record of 16 held by Roger Federer. For five-time major winner Djokovic, the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion, it was the end of his dream of emulating Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) by holding all the Grand Slams at once.  

Kiran Govt Shock to YSR Son-in-law

In a sudden move, the Kiran Kumar government shocked Brother Anil Kumar, son-in-law of late former chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy. The government, a short while ago issued orders cancelling the iron ore mining leases in 1, 41, 725 acres, purportedly owned by Bro. Anil through Rakshana Steels. The government also directed the AP Mineral Development Corporation to cancel their earlier agreement with Rakshana Steels. The minining leases over 1, 41, 725 acres are situated in Bayyaram, Garla, Nelakondapally in Khammam district and in Gudur of Warangal district. Reacting over the government's decision cancelling the Bayyram iron ore mines, the opposition party Telugu Desam said that the Congress has now opened its eyes and taking damage control measures. It is very sad that the government didn't give any heed to our complaints about these mines since long. Even industries department has sent its recommendation to the government to cancel the mining leases, but the chief minister was sitting over the file for the last two years. Meanwhile, close aides of Brother Anil Kumar claimed that he is in no way connected to Rakshana Steels.

Presidential Poll: Mamata Likely to Okay Congress Candidate

Suspense over ensuing presidental poll seems to be clearing off with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's okay to Congress candidate looks possible. The Election Commission is expected to issue a notification on Monday. The chances of Fianance Minister Pranab Mukherjee becoming UPA's Presidential candidate are high. Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has conveyed that she isn't opposed to any candidate and it's up to the Congress to decide, according to sources. The chances of a consensus on Pranab may also depend on whether the Centre will allow a special package for West Bengal. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra will meet Pranab on Monday for a financial package for the state. Amit Mitra is in Delhi for a crucial round of talks with the Union Finance Ministry. Both the Prime Minister and Pranab Mukherjee had told Mamata when she earlier visited the capital that an interest waiver was not possible as other states would ask for similar exceptions. This development took place after the Congress in West Bengal appealed to the Trinamool on Sunday to back Pranab Mukherjee as the President. Congress leader and minister in West Bengal Manas Bhuniya had appealed to Mamata Banerjee to support Pranab if the High Command makes him the candidate. NCP's Supriya Sule has said that her party would back a consensus UPA candidate. This comes even as NCP leader PA Sangma seeks support from various parties for his candidature. Meanwhile, the Opposition has also not yet arrived at a consensus on a candidate for the President's post. Sangma's candidature has been endorsed by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa. However, the BJP has said that it will arrive at a consensus after consulting all its allies.

French Open Mens Final: Postponed to Monday

The rain on Sunday postponed the French Open Men's final match to Monday. A drizzle turned downpour, making the balls heavy, the clay court slippery, dampened Djokovic's bid to become the first man in 43 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles, and Nadal's attempt to become the first man to win seven titles at the tournament. Moments later, play was suspended with the No. 2-seeded Nadal trying to protect a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2 lead over a surging Djokovic, who's seeded No.1. Tournament referee Stefan Fransson said Djokovic told him the court was slippery, and Nadal was "not happy" while pointing out his complaints about the balls. A tarp was pulled over the court, and after another hour or so, the decision was made to stop for the day and resume on Monday. When the postponement was announced to the remaining fans in the stands, some responded with boos.  

Aamir Satyamev Jayate Supports Differently Abled

Satyamev Jayate’s sixth episode highlighted the trials and tribulations of people who are disabled (the politically correct ‘differently-abled’ is considered an insult by many). It highlighted the various problems people with disabilities face and how easily it can be overcome only if society were a little more considerate and aware of their needs.   Satyamev Jayate’s sixth episode highlighted the trials and tribulations of people who are disabled (the politically correct ‘differently-abled’ is considered an insult by many). It highlighted the various problems people with disabilities face and how easily it can be overcome only if society were a little more considerate and aware of their needs.  

Rave Party Busted in Hyderabad

Police busted a rave party and nabbed five persons including two women and an alleged drug peddler from an apartment in the upscale Banjara Hills here.   Police teams raided the rave party on Saturday night and seized 14 grams of different drugs including cocaine, 24 LSD (blots and tubes) after apprehending five persons, a senior police officer said on Sunday. "A rave party which was going on at Banjara Hills road no. 10 on Saturday night was raided and five persons including two women and an Ugandan national, who was selling the banned drug substance to locals, were nabbed," Banjara Hills ACP Shanker Reddy said, adding that they seized cocaine and other drugs from the possession of the five persons. Further investigations were on, he said

Sharapova Wins French Open 2012

Sharapova Career Grand Slam: Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova won her first French Open title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sara Errani of Italy on the red clay at Roland Garros in Paris Saturday. Sharapova is now the 10th woman in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments. She has also captured Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open one time each.     Sharapova, heavily favored in Saturday's match, grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first set. The 21st-seeded Errani, who was playing in her first Grand Slam, battled Sharapova to force some long rallies.  But Errani ultimately succumbed to Sharapova's bigger serves and groundstrokes.  Sharapova stood 23 centimeters taller than her opponent. She will now become the top-ranked women's player in the world. Novak Djokovic of Serbia will play Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the men's French Open final on Sunday.

Cash-for-bail: Judge Pattabhi, 7 Others Booked by ACB

Suspended CBI Judge Pattabhirama Rao and 7 others have been booked on Saturday by the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) in the mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy cash-for-bail case. Two Karnataka legislators are also among the persons booked. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had yesterday transferred the case from CBI to ACB. Those who have been booked are First Additional CBI Judge Pattabhirama Rao, his son Ravi Chandra, retired judge Chalapathi Rao, jailed former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy's brother Somasekhara Reddy and Suresh Babu (both legislators from Karnataka), rowdy sheeter Yadgiri of Hyderabad, Dasarathrami Reddy and a junior advocate. The accused have been booked for corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act. The judge, Pattabhirama Rao, on May 11 had granted bail to Janardhana Reddy in the Obulapuram Mining Company case. Janardhan Reddy, however, remained in Bangalore jail as he is standing trial for another mining case in Karnataka. The bail order was subsequently set aside by the high court. The CBI has been investigating the scam ever since it found that Pattabhirama Rao received a bribe of Rs.5 crore to grant bail to Janardhana Reddy. However, no arrest has been made in the case so far. High Court Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur on May 31 had suspended Pattabhirama Rao. The CBI reportedly seized a part of the bribe money from bank lockers belonging to the suspended judge's son.  

Petrol Prices to go Down Further: Pranab Mukherjee

Petrol prices are to go down further, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave a hint on Saturday. He said the cut is possible as the international price of crude oil has come down. After the sharp criticism over the steepest hike, petrol price was cut by Rs.2 per litre last week, a partial rollback of the Rs.7.54 a litre increase affected earlier. The decision had brought some relief for consumers battered by double-digit inflation and the May 24 hike which was the steepest ever that came on top of two increases in a year. The May 24 hike had come under sharp attack from all political parties including allies like TMC and DMK and some ministers in the UPA and there was all-round demand for a rollback.

EC Notice to Chiranjeevi

The Election Commission of Andhra Pradesh has issued notice to Congress MP Chiranjeevi for making religious statements at Tirupathi on 11 May. Addressing public during the bypolls campaign in Tirupathi constituency, Chiranjeevi is said to have asked the people to vote for Congress, if they wish to protect the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupathi. He also is alleged to have said that by voting for YSR Congress Party or Jagan Mohan Reddy, the holiness of Tirupathi will be lost. The YSRCP strongly objected to the religious statements made by Chiranjeevi and complained to the Election Commission. Basing on the complaint, the EC has issued notice to Chiranjeevi and asked him to explain by noon on Sunday.  

MP Sachin Not to Stay in Govt Bungalow

MP Sachin has reportedly refused government offer to stay in a offical bungalow that a Rajya Sabha Member is entitled for. Sachin says that he will be in Delhi for only a few days in a year and if he would accept to stay in the bungalow he feels that he will be wasting tax-payers money. Sachin also added that the bangalow should be alloted to a person who are in more need. MP sachin sets an example not only to the politicians but also for the people who are habituated for wasting tax-payers money.

Rajasekhara Reddy looted Telangana: KTR

TRS legislator K T Rama Rao said the Telangana was not developed but looted on all fronts during the YSR regime.   “Followers of Jagan like Mangali Krishna and Bhanu Kiran had usurped huge extent of Telangana lands and resorted to settlements. He had encroached upon precious Telangana lands in Polepalli and Ranga Reddy and allotted them to industrialists who had invested in Jagan’s companies. He had tried to divert Telangana waters in Krishna river to Rayalaseema through Pothireddypadu project,” he said. Rama Rao further pointed out that YSR used to heckle the Telangana political leaders. “Because of YSR’s obstructive role, the Congress government at the Centre did not grant separate statehood to Telangana. Now, YSR Congress party leaders are giving a build up as if Jaganmohan Reddy had gone to jail for the sake of Telangana. It is ridiculous on the part of Konda Surekha to say that YSR Congress party would move a resolution on Telangana issue if it came to power in 2014 elections,” he said.  

AP Bypolls: Deepak Reddy is Richest Candidate in India

AP bypolls have sprang up a startlingly richest candidate for the ensuing by-elections on 12 June. The TDP candidate from Raidurg constituency in Ananthapur district has emerged as the richest candidate in India ever to have contested in elections. The candidate, G Deepak Reddy has put his worth close to Rs. 6,800 crore, which is the highest figure declared in the country so far. The 39-year-old Telugu Desam Party candidate's election affidavit states his worth as being close to Rs. 6,800 crore. That is the highest figure ever declared by a candidate in Indian elections - Parliament or Assembly - since the practice of filing affidavits with these details was enforced in 2004. The figure is almost four-and-a-half times the next in the Top 10 list. That was Rs. 1,522.5 crore declared by Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, the former Maharaja of Mysore, in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. No less startling is that Mr. Deepak Reddy's affidavit reports his annual income as just over Rs. 3.27 lakh, and that of his wife at just under Rs. 2 lakh. Remarkable figures on a worth of Rs. 6,800 crore. "One is fixed assets," he explained while on the campaign trail. "The other is income. There's a difference." A very substantial difference. The income stated is from his Income Tax return for the assessment year 2009-10 (that is, financial year 2008-09). The affidavit carries no figures for the two subsequent financial years. It does state that Mr. Deepak Reddy has an MBA from Widener University in Philadelphia, U.S. The TDP candidate is also the son-in-law of J.C. Prabhakar Reddy, Congress leader and ex-Municipal Chairman of Tadipatri in Anantapur - whose brother is J.C. Diwakar Reddy, Congress MLA and former long-time Minister. Mr. Deepak Reddy explained that the huge figure comes from the stake he has in property, some of it embroiled in disputes. And also that “he has agreements with some parties who I am helping in the battle to recover land grabbed by the government.” Among the property parcels he lists in an annexure to the affidavit, the top three are worth Rs. 3,128 crore, Rs. 943 crore and Rs. 529 crore. Just the value of the property, some of which are unregistered, comes to Rs. 6,781 crore. Much of that is under litigation. Apart from these, he has assets worth around Rs. 20 crore. He told that his main interests are in mining business.

Swami Nityananda: Tension Continues at Bidadi Ashram

Swami Nityananda is again in news for the assault on a Kannada news channel reporter by his disciples at Bidadi ashram on Thursday. The godman had called for a press meet on Thursday to clear the air about allegations levelled against him by one of his former disciples, Aarathi Rao. During the meet, reporter of a Kannada news channel questioned about summons issued by a US Court against Nityananda and sought his reaction. First Swami denied about receiving any such summons, but when reporter showed copies of the summons, he got flared up and asked his disciples to throw the reporter and his lawyer friend out of the meet. Some of the assembled journalists opposed the move and were abused by the disciples. The reporters later walked out. The TV reporter later filed a complaint against Nithyananda and four of his followers alleging of physical assault and threat to his life, police said. Based on the complaints and counter complaints, the Bidadi police registered two first information reports (FIRs) on Thursday - one against Nithyananda and others, and another against the reporter. Tension prevailed at the Nithyananda ashram for the second day on Friday when activists of some Kannada organisations and ashram devotees clashed for over three hours. The police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the warring groups. The Bidadi police arrested 20 activists of Kannada organisations. Ten devotees have also been taken into custody and their role in the clash and Thursday's unruly incidents is being probed.

French Open Final 2012: Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Nadal vs Djokovic: For the fourth straight time in a Grand Slam final, it will be Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal.The top two players each won in straight sets Friday — second-seeded Nadal in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 whitewashing of sixth-seeded Ferrer and top-seeded Djokovic in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 3 Federer that didn`t feel that close.     On Sunday, "Nadal" and "Djokovic" meet and someone will make history, Either Nadal will win his seventh French Open to break the record he now shares with Bjorn Borg or Djokovic will become the first man in 43 years to win four straight Grand Slam tournaments. "I know I have to be playing consistently well on a very high level to win a best-of-five against Nadal here," Djokovic said. "It`s the ultimate challenge. But I believe today was my best match of 2012 Roland Garros for me. I raised my game when I needed to. That`s something that gives me confidence before the final."

CBI Court Permits Vijay Sai Reddy Pilgrimage

The CBI special court on Friday gave permission to Sai Reddy to go to Tirumala and Shirdi to pay obeisance to Lord Venkateshwara and Sai Baba respectively between June 13 and 20. However, the court asked him to submit the his tour programme details to the court and the CBI before leaving the headquarters.     Earlier, Sai Reddy sought the court permission to leave Hyderabad to go on a pilgrimage to Tirumala and Shirdi for six days between June 8 and 13. However, the CBI opposed his petition on the ground that it had called Sai Redy for questioning on June 11 and 12, along with Jagan and others in the illegal assets case.  It, however, said it had no objection to Sai Reddy’s pilgrimage at a later date.   Sai Reddy is a staunch devotee of both the gods. He was the member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board during his hey days. And he also regularly used to go to Shirdi. Even in Chanchalguda jail, Sai Reddy used to spend time with Sai Bhajans in the evening, said a media report.  

Gold Stolen From Actor BalaKrishna's House

Unidentified persons had been stealing small gold ornaments from the house of noted Telugu film actor, N. Balakrishna, located on road no. 1/45 of Jubilee Hill for nearly the past one month, the police said on Thursday. A case of theft was registered by the Jubilee Hills police after the actor's relative, Prasada Rao, lodged a written complaint.   While the exact value of the total stolen property was not mentioned, the complainant told the police that it could be around Rs.15 lakh. Most of the stolen goods were items such as earrings. Some of them were taken away when kept in the open, while others were stolen from the almirah. “Since there were no signs of breaking the almirah or forcible entry on any part of the house, the needle of suspicion pointed towards persons working in the house,” the police said. The police have summoned some air-conditioning mechanics who worked in the house earlier. Domestic workers of the house were also questioned about the spree of thefts.