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Poonam Pandey to Join Anna Hazare Team

Reports say that Kiran Bedi has forwarded an invitation to Poonam Pandey to be a part of Team Anna's campaign. Poonam Pandey is a very popular name in our country. In one word, she can be better defined as the hot Internet sensation of today. People love her as well as criticize her for her bold acts. Hence, she is one of the best options, who could give more impetus to the movement against corruption.     India Against Corruption (IAC) is a citizen's movement to demand strong anti-corruption laws. Anna's struggle against corruption was a gentle reminder of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha. Hence, it pulled a major proportion of the crowd from every nook and corner of the nation, in support of the anti-corruption cause.  

CBI Court Judge Pattabhirama Rao Suspended

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has placed the first additional special judge for CBI cases Pattabhirama Rao under suspension on the charges of graft. The HC received some secret information about him and it was felt that he be placed under suspension in the public interest. The Registrar General, HC has issued orders to that effect on Thursday night. T. Pattabhirama Rao was appointed CBI court judge a few weeks ago. He had dealt with only a few cases. While he rejected bail to IAS officer Y Srilakshmi, an accused in the illegal mining scam, he granted the relief to Gali Janardhan Reddy, the key accused in the case. It is also alleged that the judge has received 5 crores as bribe from the persons close to Gali Janardhan Reddy to do this favour. While suspending Pattabhi, the HC which launched disciplinary proceedings against him under Rule 8(1) of the AP civil services (CC&A) Rules, 1991, ordered him not to leave Hyderabad without obtaining prior permission from it. A Pullaiah, the principal special judge of the CBI court, was given the full additional charge of the court.      

Kiran Government Scraps Brahmani Steels Project

In a late night move on Thursday, Kiran Kumar Reddy government has issued orders scrapping the five year old MoU signed with Brahmani Steels project signed during the tenure of late YS Rajasekhar Reddy as chief minister. The project was to be set up by tainted mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy at Jammalamadugu in backward Kadapa district. Distancing itself further from the late CM's controversial projects and schemes, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in a late night move issued GO 99 cancelling the project, promoted by Jaganmohan Reddy's friend Janardhana Reddy, who is cooling his heels in a Bangalore jail in connection with the OMC illegal mining case. A senior official said the Brahmani Industries Ltd (BIL) did not implement the project as per schedule and hence, the government took the decision to terminate the project. Then YSR government had signed the MoU with Gali's firm on May 21, 2007, to set up a mega steel plant and provide jobs to thousands of unemployed youth. Sources said the government is yet to take a decision on taking back over 14,000 acres of land allotted to BIL.

Exodus Starts From Cong, TDP to YSRCP

By all means it can be said that an exodus of sitting MLAs has started from Congress and TDP towards YSR Congress Party. After Congress MLAs Alla Nani and RVSK Ranga Rao defied party bosses by switching loyalties to YSRCP, three more sitting legislators from Congress and TDP have decided to join hands with Jagan Mohan Reddy. While Congress legislators Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy (Kakinada) and Savara Jayamani (Parvathipuram) called on Vijayamma at Kotauratla in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, TDP MLA Chinnam Ramakotaiah (Nuzvid) created ripples by declaring that he won't contest on TDP ticket in the next elections. Although Ramakotaiah did not reveal his next move, party sources say that his exit from TDP is certain. In effect, the Congress has almost lost four legislators - Nani, Ranga Rao, Dwarampudi and Jayamani - to Jagan's party in the last few days and speculation is rife that at least a dozen are ready to jump the boat by the time YSRCP founder president Vijayamma winds up her campaign for the June 12 byelections. The speculation is that some more Congress legislators would jump into YSRCP bandwagon in the coming days. Among those who might ride the Jagan ratham include Buchepalli Sivaprasada Reddy (Darsi), A Suresh Babu (Y Palem), C Adinarayana Reddy (Jammalamadugu), B N Vijayakumar (Santhanuthalapadu), P Ramanjaneyulu (Bhimavaram), Rapaka Varaprasada Rao (Rajole), Katasani Ramireddy (Banaganapalle), Janardhana Thatraju (Kurupam), Peedika Rajanna Dora (Saluru), Muthyala Papa (Narsipatnam), T Vijaya Kumar (Visakhapatnam North) and Kannababu Raju (Yelamanchili). TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu is also jittery as party MLA Bala Nagireddy (Mantralayam) is openly aligned with the Jagan camp, while Ramakotaiah is making serious moves to meet Vijayamma. Naidu made frantic calls to woo Ramakotaiah, but party insiders said it is only a matter of time before he too jumps the fence. Ramakotaiah, a retired engineer in the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), joined PRP before last general elections. When the PRP denied him the ticket, Naidu hugged him and fielded him from Nuzvid which he won.      

Tara Chowdary Targets TV9

Tara Chowdary alleged that TV9 has been telecasting wrong stories on her. It is known that she was released from jail today. After her release, she talked to media at Chanchalguda Jail saying, "I'm going to call for a Press Meet to reveal all the secrets. I'm happy for the release after 2 months". She also made controversial statements that TV9 Reporter Muralidhar used to misbehave with her in vulgar language. She pointed that TV9 has shown many false stories on her only to cover TV9 Muralidhar's issue.    

England's Kevin Pietersen Retires From ODIs, T20s

Kevin Pietersen Retirement: England's Kevin Pietersen has retired from ODIs and T20s with immediate effect due to the 'hectic international schedule'. The news comes as surprise as there are just a couple of months left before the T20 World Cup in which England are defending champions.     "After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from international one-day cricket. With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015. I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game, but still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket." said Pietersen. Pietersen wanted to retire only from ODIs, but that is not allowed under ECB's contract. A player who retires from ODIs is automatically disqualified from consideration for T20s. Pietersen said that he wanted to play the T20 World Cup, but had no choice. "For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20."  

Route Map Of Investments in to Jagan Companies

The route map of some the investments that made their way in to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy owned Jagati Publications has been disclosed by a Kolkata based tax consultant. The CBI has recorded the statement of Kolkata based consultant, Mr Navneet Kumar Singhania, under Section 164 CrPc. In his statement before CBI, the consultant stated that around 60 crore was invested into Jagathi Publications through two companies, Sugam Comodeal Private Limited and Chandelier Tracon Private Limited, of Kolkata. He told that one Mr Ratan Babu Lal had given him 60 crore for investment. He said that he had floated the two companies, Sugam Comodeal and Chandelier, with his employees as directors. Sugam Comodeal Private Limited and Chandelier Tracon Private Limited of Kolkata had issued 25 cheques to Jagathi Publications. Sugam Comodeal, situated at the Digamber Jain temple at Kolkata, had invested 31.12 crore and Chandelier, in Hanspur Lane of Kolkata, had invested 28.58 crore on May 21, 2009 in Jagathi. The CBI has alleged that companies based in Kolkata and Mumbai had invested around 100 crore in Jagathi. The investigating agency will now have to track down the person who gave the money to Mr Ratan Babu Lal. The FIR had stated that 22 "shell companies" of Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Rajkot and Chennai had invested 195 crore into Jagathi.  

Jagan Effect: Top Brass Reshuffle at Aurobindo Pharma

Jagan effect has caused a major top brass reshuffle at Aurobindo Pharma Limited with the pharma major's alleged links with tainted Kadapa MP and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy coming under severe scrutiny by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The company has announced restructuring of its top brass on Wednesday and also reported a 13.6 per cent drop in its net profits for the quarter ending March 31, 2012. The Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical giant, Aurobindo Pharma, informed BSE that it had redesignated the company’s managing director K Nithyananda Reddy as vice-chairman and appointed him as a whole-time director of the firm. Industry observers said the restructuring was done in view of the developments in the Jagan case to ensure that the company's operations are not affected at any stage through the investigations. It is well known that currently Jagan Mohan Reddy is lodged in Chanchalguda jail facing charges of disproportionate assets and Aurobindo Pharma happens to be one of the investors in Jagan's companies. The CBI had raided the various premises of the company on August 19 and 20, 2011, two days after the FIR was registered in the Jagan case. Reddy was named in a CBI chargesheet filed in the Jagan assets case. The investigating agency had disclosed that Aurobindo through the relatives of its managing director, Nithyananda Reddy, had invested Rs 3 crore in Jagan-owned Jagathi Publications as a quid pro quo arrangement. In return, the government had allotted Aurobindo along with another pharma major 75 acres of land at a subsidized rate at the pharma Special Economic Zone at Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district in 2006. Aurobindo had made similar investments in Janani Infrastructure as well, the CBI had noted. Reddy will be relinquishing his current responsibilities on June 1 to take on his new position. P V Ramaprasad Reddy who along with Nithyananda Reddy had founded the Aurobindo Group of Companies in 1986, is also set to step down from his position as executive chairman of the company. He will now continue as a whole-time director of the board. While company sources refuted reports about the sudden restructuring being rooted in the Jagan case, industry observers claimed otherwise. They said the move was primarily aimed at taking the spotlight off the biggies of Aurobindo who were currently under the CBI scanner. The vice-chairman’s designation is viewed as not so critical a post as that of an MD in the company. The board of directors of Aurobindo have now appointed N Govindarajan, currently the CEO (API & CRAMS) as director and managing director of the company. His appointment, effective June 1, is subject to approval of shareholders at the company’s ensuing annual general meeting, the board informed BSE. The company also re-designated K Ragunathan (now an independent director) as non-executive chairman of the board with effect from June 1. Ravindra Y Shenoy’s fresh appointment as director and joint managing director of the pharma major, the board stated, would be confirmed once approved by the company’s shareholders.

Court Granted Bail to Tara Chowdary

Justice B Chandra Kumar of the AP High Court on Wednesday directed the concerned criminal court to grant bail to Tara Chowdary on the technical ground that the prosecution had failed to file a charge sheet within the prescribed time of 90 days.   The court, however, ensured that the bail was granted on such conditions as would be required in the case. The accused moved for bail after she was arrested and lodged in jail for offences relating to immoral trafficking.  

Jagan's Bail Plea to be Heard on Friday

A Special CBI Court in Hyderabad heard YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy's bail petition in the disproportionate assets case on Thursday, but it will pronounce its order on Friday. The Kadapa MP is in judicial custody for 14 days.   Jagan said that his custody was a move by the CBI and the Congress to ensure he is not able to campaign for the crucial bypolls in Andhra Pradesh. Jagan's mother YS Vijayamma Reddy hit the campaign trail for the bypolls following the arrest of her son. Vijayamma also alleged that there is a conspiracy to defame him and demanded that the Centre and state government clarify doubts over the death of her husband YS Rajasekhara Reddy. Jagan is currently lodged in Hyderabad's Chanchalguda jail and will stay in jail till the eve of the crucial bypolls in the state, if not granted bail.

Mopidevi’s Remand Extended

A special CBI court on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of former Excise minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana till June 7 and granted his request of being treated as a special category prisoner.   Mopidevi, the Infrastructure minister in Y S R’s ministry, was arrested by the CBI on May 24 for allegedly extending undue favours to Vanpic. He was presented before the designated court on the same day and remanded in CBI custody for five days. Mopidevi’s lawyers filed a bail petition in the CBI court on Wednesday. The court have posted hearing in the matter on Thursday.

Bharat Bandh Today Against Petrol Price Hike

Bharat Bandh: The unprecedented hike in petrol prices has helped the Left and the Right to make common cause on Thursday for a nationwide protest, described by BJP and its allies as Bharat Bandh and by Left as All India Protest Day. This is the second time that the BJP, Left and other non-Congress parties will be coordinating their agitations since the last Lok Sabha elections to give the impression of a wider Opposition unity on issues concerning people.   A similar agitation against petrol price hike had happened on July 5, 2010. Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which is supporting the UPA goverment from outside, has also given the bandh call on Thursday so has BJD in Odisha. Amid indications that the Opposition has also attempted to rope in some UPA allies, which have strongly protested the hike, BJP President Nitin Gadkari today asked parties like DMK- which has opposed the petrol price hike- to join the bandh today. "The UPA government has increased petrol prices on 18 to 19 occasions. Now even the Rupee has fallen further. The situation is deteriorating in such a manner that we have reached the stage where we may have to pledge our gold again. We would like all parties, opposed to the petrol hike, to join our protest," Gadkari told reporters on Wednesday. DMK had threatened that it may think of withdrawing support to the Congress-led UPA government due to this petrol hike. However, later DMK chief K Karunanidhi clarified that the party will oppose the move while staying within UPA. NDA convener Sharad Yadav said the Opposition parties do not believe the statement of the government that it will not increase diesel and LPG prices. "They are saying it because they are under pressure from the Opposition now. Their argument that the government has no role in petrol price hike is an eyewash. People's anger on the issue will be visible during the Bharat Bandh today. Opposition is united on the issue," Yadav said. Interestingly even as Mulayam Singh Yadav had attended the UPA's function to release its annual performance report card on May 22, his party is now organising a state bandh on May 31 that coincides with the agitation plan of the Opposition.

Viswanathan Anand is World Chess Champion Again

Viswanathan Anand is World Chess Champion again: India's ace chess champion Viswanathan Anand has successfully retained his world No. 1 title by winning the fourth game of his rapid chess tie-breaker against challenger Boris Gelfand in the World Chess Championship on Wednesday. This is Anand’s fifth world title. Anand led 2-1 going into the fourth game of the tie-breaker, which was set up after a tied 6-6 result with his Israeli challenger Boris in the 12th and final game in Moscow on Monday, and finished the fourth game 2.5 to 1.5. Anand, playing his third match since winning the world title in a tournament format in 2007, won the second game and drew the first and third to move close to the title. Gelfand tried hard in the fourth game, and had several chances to press home the advantage, but failed in his bid as Anand defended well. Today’s tie-breaker at the State Tretyakov Gallery consisted of four games under rapid chess rules with 25 minutes to each player and a ten seconds increment after every move was made. Source:ibnlive.

Jagan Case Brings Speed Into probe of Other VIP Cases

Going by the speed with which the case against Kadapa MP Jagana Mohan Reddy is being pursued, it is hoped that other high profile corruption cases involving top politicians of the state will also now be investigated and concluded with equal vigour. There are many a case involving top politicians like former chief minister and current Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah in the 200 crore Huda Maitrivanam land scam. The probe into the liquor scam allegedly involves Pradesh Congress Comm ittee president and minister Botsa Satyanarayana, and other politicians, and there’s a tax evasion case linked to film star and now Congress leader K. Chiranjeevi. These have all been proceeding at snail’s pace, allege legal experts. Meanwhile, in the ongoing Jagan Mohan Reddy illegal assets case, Sriranga Rao, a lawyer, submitted a petition to CBI joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana on Tuesday asking him to file a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking direction to register separate FIRs in the case."Each conspiracy like Vanpic, Penna and others has to be made as a separate FIR. If the CBI is not approaching the court, we will take it up. They are separate dealings and transactions, but only one FIR has been issued," Mr Sriranga Rao said. He said, “Mr Rosaiah’s case is coming up after vacation in the court. We also filed a case against TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu in the IMG Bharata case and it will come up after the vacation. Responding to advocate Sriranga Rao, the CBI joint director said that depending on the evidence, KVP Ramachandra Rao will made a witness or accused for his role in Emaar properties case. The joint director also agreed that cases are pending against the current TN Governor K. Rosaiah in the Huda Maitrivanam land scam, while the liquor scam and tax evation case against Congress leader K. Chiranjeevi are proceeding at snail's pace.

EC Notice to CM Over His Call For 10 Votes Each

The Election Commission (EC) has served notice on chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday over his alleged call to public asking them to cast at least 10 votes each in the upcoming bypolls. It is alleged that the chief minister while addressing an election meeting in Rayadurgam has asked each voter to cast 10 votes in the ensuing byelections for 18 assembly and 1 lok sabha seat on 12 June, 2012. The opposition parties immediately took strong objection to the chief minister's utterance. The EC also took cognisance of the issue and felt that it contravened the section 171(B) of the IPC. Accordingly it served notice on Kiran Kumar Reddy and asked him to reply by noon on 31 May 2012. It is well known that the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy faces difficulty in communicating properly while speaking in Telugu. Or it could have been just a slip of tongue by the CM. But the opposition has blown it up out of proportion in view of the byelections, just to embarrass the ruling party.      

YS Jagan is Gabbar Singh: Revanth Reddy

Political parties in the state are busy using their own means and ways to knock down the opposition. Telugudesam party is trying to create fun in their campaign by taking ‘Gabbar Singh’ in.   Finally, the war has started in the much hyped Parakal constituency and TDP has launched its best weapon to deal with it. MLA Revanth Reddy of the party has criticized Jagan and Congress in his own style. He stated that Jagan is ‘Gabbar Singh’ and clarified immediately that he is not PowerStar’s ‘Gabbar Singh’, but the famous villain ‘Gabbar Singh’ of Sholay. Cadres have started blowing whistles when he stated these words and the credit should go to Pawan Kalyan entirely. TDP’s quick move to use the craze in the state to their benefit is making many analysts go jaw dropped. That’s the power of politics and politicians.

Charge Sheet 2: Jagan to Attend CBI Court On June 11

The Special Court dealing with Jagan's illegal assets case has ordered Jagan to attend before them on June 11th. Looks like, the special court is tightening noose around Jagan as his judicial custody will end on the same date.     In a major setback to Jagan, CBI court has considered the 2nd charge sheet in disproportionate assets case as a 'special case' and ordered the A1, A2 and A3 to attend before court on June 11th. They are Jagan, Vijayasai Reddy and Jagathi Publications respectively. Court issued a warrant to Chanchalguda Jail authorities to present Jagan before the court on above said date, and issued summons to Vijayasai and Jagathi regarding their attendance. This charge sheet deals with 30 crores invested by other state businessmen in Jagathi Publications. There are allegations that the businessman has accused Jagan and Vijayasai of threatening them with dire sequences if they fail to invest. Rather getting bail, these charge sheets might force Jagan to stay back in barracks of Chanchalguda till 2014 elections.  

ED Likely to Question Jagan Today

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to question Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in connection with its probe against him and others in an alleged money-laundering and foreign exchange violations case. Mr Jagan Mohan was arrested by the CBI in a disproportionate assets (DA) case in Hyderabad on Sunday.     According to information, a team of the ED has already arrived in the state on Tuesday, to prepare the grounds for a speedy probe in money routing case against Jagan Mohan Reddy. The ED authorities would be filing a petition in the CBI court, seeking permission to question the Kadapa MP in jail. ED has already sought court’s permission to question the other accused in the case. Legal experts are of the view that as CBI does not cover PMLA, the chargesheets filed by the agency confined only to the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act cases. The ED has registered a separate Enforcement Case Information Report under the jurisdiction of the local designated Economic Offences wing court at Nampally. Under section 10 of PMLA, the ED has powers to arrest the accused. It has also powers to slap cases that might attract imprisonment of not less than 3 years and up to 7 years as well as a fine up to Rs. 5 lakhs. It is being said that initially ED might seek permission to record Jagan’s statement in the jail itself. But if he is released on bail, they can arrest him, say sources.

Income Tax Department Led to Jagan Doom

It was income tax department that was cue behind the nailing of Jagan Mohan Reddy, says CBI. Though Jagan has been arrested yesterday by the CBI, but it was income tax department that first smelt a rat in Jagan dealings way back in 2010. The I-T department nailed Jagan for the first time at the end of 2010 in its tax assessment order. And this order seems to have been the starting point of CBI's investigations. Examining the returns filed by Jagati Publications that publishes Sakshi newspaper, the tax department realised that something was not squaring up. Precisely what caught the attention of the tax officials was that 90% of the equity in the company was held by Jagan and his close associates but they had only contributed 20% of the share capital. On the other hand, a few outside shareholders held 10% of the equity although they had contributed 80% of the share capital. This anomaly happened, as per the tax men, because Jagan had been allotted shares at the par value whereas the outside shareholders had been allotted equity at a premium of Rs 350 per share. Taxmen studied the newspaper business in Andhra Pradesh and realized that there was cut throat competition in the market. Most of the newspapers were in losses and relied greatly on advertisements that were chary in coming. This led to the conclusion that the investors had not put their money in the hope that Jagati would perform excellently in the market. This was in line with books of accounts of Sakshi that showed that by March end 2010, Jagati had totted up losses of Rs 319.84 crore. Many of the investors were big companies whose track records showed that they had great business acumen. So they would not be foolish enough to invest in a difficult business and in a company that was in losses. So what led these companies to invest in Jagati? Taxmen issued notices to these companies which had picked up equity in Jagati and realized (from their replies) that all of them had been allotted huge tracts of land and projects in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government. The taxmen came to the conclusion that it was in lieu of these projects that these companies had invested in Jagati Publications. In the end the taxmen came to the conclusion and this was noted in the tax assessment report: “the amount paid to Jagati (the assesee company) cannot be justified as share premium but as income to Jagati.” And therefore a demand of Rs 122 crore was slapped on Jagati Publications.