Home  
Top News

Renuka Emergence Baffles Andhra Senior Congressmen

The recent emergence Renuka Choudhary as Rajya Sabha member has baffled some senior congressmen from andhra region. These seniors from andhra didn't oppose when she was nominated for RS. The heartburn started with the talk that Renuka is trying for cabinet berth at the Centre under Telangana quota. What is worrying the senior in the party is - already Jaipal Reddy is continuing as central minister from Telangana and Renuka is considered to be more close to the powers that be in the party. Moreover, she had been a minister of state for Health and Family Welfare during 1997-98 and later minister of state Women & Child Welfare (Independent Charge) between 2006-2009. Even though she had been defeated in 2009 MP elections by over 1.5 lakh votes, she still enjoys a good rapport with the party high command. There is no doubt that the party high command is giving her more preference than the seniors in waiting. Of cource, Renuka Choudhary too has some questionable blemishes. In 1993 a case has been registered against her in Delhi for assaulting a traffic cop. In 2000, she faced severe criticism for accepting a 1.5 crore worth of diamond ring as gift from a jeweller Hasan Ali, who later turned out to be an 8000 billions scamster. After getting defeated in 2009, she didn't vacate her official residence in the national capital, in spite of several notices from the Speaker. In spite of such background, she is hopeful of getting a cabinet post. According to reliable sources, senior leaders from coastal andhra like Kavuri Sambasiva Rao and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao are apprehensive that Renuka may clinch the chance because of her closeness to party president Sonia Gandhi. If this happens, both Kavuri nad Rayapati would be the losers, since they are the ones who clinged sincerely to the party so long with the hope that they will get cabinet posts someday.

Major Fire Accident in Jeedimetla Chemical Factory

A major fire accident took place Monday morning in Jeedimetla industrial area, when the barrels of chemicals stored in a building exploded. The entire building got engulfed in fire immediately and heavy property loss is reported. Four Fire Engines have reached the spot and rescue operations are in progress. No loss of life or injury has been reported sofar, though heavy property loss is expected. The police are investigating the cause of fire and damage assessment is being done. Sources inform that the fire has been controled and there is no danger of it spreading further. It may take some more time to put off the fire completely, told the fire fighting personnel.      

T-movement Rejuvenates With Bhojya Naik Suicide

Telangana movement once again gets rejuvenated with the suicide of Bhojya Naik. Tension prevailed in Warangal on Sunday during the funeral procession of Bhojya Naik, who committed suicide on Saturday. Students went on a rampage hurling stones at the houses of TDP and Congress leaders and also at the statues of Andhra leaders. Students took out a rally with the body of Naik after the MGM doctors conducted a post mortem examination in the afternoon. Naik poured kerosene and set himself on fire in support of separate Telangana state. Leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Bharatiya Janata Party, Students JAC, doctors JAC and advocates JAC participated in the funeral procession. At the mortuary, angry students raised slogans against Andhra leaders. They attacked Pradeep Rao, brother of Telangana Telugu Desam Forum convenor E Dayakar Rao, who came to console the kin of Naik. Students chased away Pradeep Rao and his followers and thrashed them. However, with the timely intervention of the police, Pradeep escaped with minor injuries. Later, the youth took out a procession from MGM hospital to Telangana martyrs memorial at Hanamkonda. During the procession, the agitators tried to destroy the statue of Rajiv Gandhi at MGM centre and hurled footwear and stones at it. En route, the agitators threw stones at the house of government chief whip Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy. Though a number of rapid action force (RAF) police were posted near the house, agitators removed the barbed wire and marched towards the house of the Congress leader. The funeral procession on Sunday turned violent with Telangana activists beating up TDP MLA Yerrabelli Dayakara Rao’s brother and throwing stones at the residence of chief whip Gandra Venakta Ramana Reddy and at a hotel belonging to TDP MP G Sudha Rani. The scenes reminded of the days when the Telangana movement was at peak.      

Anna Oneday Protest: Lokpal Deadline 2014

Thousands gathered at Jantar Mantar, Delhi on Sunday to show solidarity to social activist Anna Hazare's onday protest seeking security to whistleblowers in anti-corruption cases. Team Anna members were all smiles as the crowd swelled by the hour. While Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal took turns to launch a scathing attack on the government while addressing the crowd, a rejuvenated Anna Hazare said the government should vacate office in 2014 if it could not bring a strong Lokpal bill. Before starting his token fast for a day, Hazare said many people have sacrificed their lives while fighting corruption. "Their (whistleblowers') mothers, their children, their fathers, their wives are crying for justice. But this government has gone dumb and deaf. It is not listening to the cries of people," he said. Hazare demanded that FIRs be registered against 14 "corrupt" cabinet ministers by August failing which Team Anna would launch a "jail bharo andolan" across the country. "We have to be ready for this. Dates will be announced later," he said. "Twenty-five people were murdered for fighting against corruption. We have been stressing on a law to protect whistleblowers, but the government doesn't seem to be ready." Sunday's fast, called in the wake of the murder of IPS officer Narendra Kumar by the mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh on March 8. Family members of Kumar and other whistleblowers narrated their experiences to the crowd. Also, giant screens kept telecasting short clips on 25 whistleblowers who have been killed while fighting corruption. Another whistleblower, Mahendra Kumar Sharma was killed for exposing irregularities in the National Rural Health Mission in Uttar Pradesh. His son Tushar said "senior officers in the administration have threatened us with dire consequences if we name big shots". "No one is bothered about us," he said. Jantar Mantar was teeming with people in Anna caps holding the Tricolour even before Hazare appeared on the dais a little after eleven in the morning, shouting "Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Inquilab Zindabad". Before finishing his speech Hazare vowed to continue his fight for a strong Lokpal. "We will show them (the government) people's power in the 2014 elections. Not just this, we would fight to get the right to reject as well," he said.    

Anna Hazare Protest: Delhi Police Gets Ready

Social activist and crusader against corruption, Anna Hazare will sit on a day-long protest on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on the issue of alleged killings of several honest men and officers by organised mafia or in terror attacks. Delhi Police have given conditional permission to Team Anna for the protest and more than 1000 policemen will be deployed at the Jantar Mantar venue to maintain law and order. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Seju Kuruvilla said a legal undertaking has been taken from team Anna. "The organisers have confirmed the presence of the father of IPS officer Narendra Kumar who was killed in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh while intercepting a tractor-trolley carrying illegally-mined stones," he said. He said the family of Indian Oil Corporation officer Manjunath Shanmugam, who was shot dead in Lakhimpur Kheri while trying to stop sale of adulterated oil, is also likely to be present at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Kuruvilla further added that team Anna informed him about the presence of around 40 such families at Jantar Mantar whose kin were either killed by mafia or during terror attacks. "We have told them that the crowd should not be more than 1,000 people. Around 10 metal detectors will be placed at three entry points with 1,000 police personnel to avoid any untoward incident," he added.  

Telangana Leaders Were Sold out to YSR: Palvai

In an exclusive interview to teluguone.com, the newly elected Rajya Sabha member from AP and  one of the senior Congress leaders from Telangana region, Palvai Govardhan Reddy said that the Telangana leaders have sold themselves out to the YSR Congress party. Speaking to teluguone.com reporter, Palvai Govardhan Reddy said that he never ran after the posts. Though many others were ready to give suitcases full of money to the party, he got the Rajya Sabha seat without spending a paisa. He said, both himself and Rapolu Bhaskar have not spent any money nor done any canvassing with in the party to get nomionated to the Rajya Sabha. Though both of them can not afford to pay crores of rupees, the party has rewarded them for their long and sincere services. This he said, clearly shows that some welcome changes are taking place in Congress. He recalled TRS leader KT Ramarao's allegations that TDP's Devender Goud and CM Ramesh have allocated Rs. 100 crores for getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha. He said, both of them are crorepatis and TDP, which boasts of being a 'poor people's party' has sent these crorepatis to RS. But, it is the greatness of the Congress party, that has ventured to send paupers like us to the Rajya Sabha. He opined that earlier TRS leaders have sold themselves to YS Rajasekhar Reddy and that was the reason for Telangana movement getting weakened. He added, "Whenever it might be, it is possible only for the Congress party to carve out a separate Telangana state." He said that he will speak out loudly in Rajya Sabha about the necessity of a separate. He added, "By making me a RS member, even though party knew very well that I am a staunch separatist, it clearly shows that the party high command is getting favourable towards resolving the contentious Telangana issue."  

Top Maoist RK in Police Dragnet?

The police have credible information that top maoist leader Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna alias RK is moving in Andhra-Orrissa Border (AOB). Large scale combing operations have begun to nab him. RK is the maoist leader who participated in talks with the government during late YS Rajhasekhar Reddy's tenure. While RK went into hiding after the talks, several top leaders who participated in talks along with him, have been killed in police encounters. Recently, police have arrested top maoists Tupakula Ramanjamma and Manda Mohan, from whom they got the information that RK is in AOB area. According to sources, the police is very confident to nab him shortly.

Bhanu, Nayeem Still Elude Arrest

Two sensational alleged murderers from Andhra Pradesh, Bhanu and Nayeemuddin  are still eluding arrest by the police. While Nayeemuddin is the one who is alleged to have killed former naxalite and TRS leader Sambasivudu, BHanu said to have murdered Rayalaseema factionist Maddelacheruvu Suri in broad daylight at Hyderabad. Since then the state police is look out for them, but could not arrest them so far. While Suri killer Bhanu Kiran's whereabouts are not known, the case of Nayeem is different. After killing TRS leader Sambasivudu, Nayeem, who is a former naxalite,  has been operating as a covert for the police, allege the TRS leaders. They also say that some leaders hailing from Bhongir area are protecting Nayeemuddin and express their own doubts about the police investigation.  

Mulayam Sets Eyes on Mid term Polls

After winning 224 assembly seats and establishing his son Akhilesh as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has now set his eyes at the Parliament. Speaking at a party function on the birth anniversary of Ram Manohar Lohia, Mulayam said "There is no guarantee when the Lok Sabha elections may take place," and asked his son Akhilesh Yadav to fulfil all promises made in the party’s assembly poll manifesto within a year. He gave call to the party cadre to target all the 80 MP seats in the state in the coming elections. However, the Congress brushed aside Mulayam's statement on early polls. "There is obviously no guarantee that the sky may not fall on our heads or that (BJP leader) BS Yeddyurappa will stop demanding the (Karnataka) CM’s chair. But the possibility of mid-term polls is as remote as that," said party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Trinamool Congress, a key and troublesome ally of the UPA, refused to comment on Mulayam's remark. Mulayam asked Akhilesh to show "at least one miraculous act of governance in the next six months" and cautioned that the best of policies fail if the intent isn't clean. "We have to see that power doesn’t turn the state government arrogant the way it did the last regime," he said. In political circle at the Centre, a talk is doing rounds that there is every possibility of sprouting up of a third front sans BJP and Mulayam is making moves in that direction. "Hence the talk of mid-term polls," they say.  

Maoists Kidnap BJD MLA in Odisha

A tribal MLA of the ruling BJD in Odisha was abducted by Maoists in Koraput district in the early hours today, police said. Jhina Hikaka, legislator from Laxmipur, was returning home from Koraput when more than 50 armed rebels stopped his vehicle near Toyaput, Koraput Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar said. While the personal security officer (PSO) and driver of the MLA were allowed to leave, Hikaka was taken away into the nearby forest, about 40 km from here by the ultras at gunpoint, he said. The PSO and driver informed the Laxmipur police station about the incident, the Kumar said, adding steps have been initiated to ascertain the whereabouts of the legislator. The abduction came 10 days after the Maoists took two Italians hostage from Kandhamal district on March 14 and talks were in progress between rebel-nominated negotiators and government representatives to resolve the crisis. The incident happened hours after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appealed to the rebels to desist from violence. Meanwhile, Maoist negotiators engaged to end the Italian hostage crisis - B D Sharma and Dandapani Mohanty - have appealed to the Maoists to release the legislator without delay.

Shankar Rao Lashes Out at Kiran Govt

Former Textiles Minister Dr. Shankar Rao today lashed out at the corrupt government of Kiran Kumar Reddy. He said that the entire cabinet, along with the Chief Minister and the PCC chief should own responsibility for the party’s debacle in the by-elections and quit. Speaking at the media point in Assembly, Shankar Rao said Congress had tasted defeat in Goa and other states, for encouraging corruption. The PCC Chief and the entire cabinet should resign bowing to the people’s verdict, he demanded. Shankar Rao said it was unfortunate that the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was supporting the six ministers to whom the Supreme Court has issued notices for irregularities in  issue of GOs that favored the YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. He said it was because the Congress government was supporting corrupt ministers, Dalits, educated people and intellectuals were distancing themselves from the Congress. Before saying goodbye to reportes, true to his histrionics, Shankar Rao made a comment about Jagan Mohan Reddy, which hints at the possibility of paving way for Jagan's homecoming to Congress. Shankar Rao Had said "I have been repeatedly telling, Jagan is our boy, he belongs to Congress, someday or the other."  

Chiranjeevi, Renuka Choudhary Elected to Rajya Sabha

Megastar-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, former Union Minister Renuka Choudhary (both from ruling Congress) and former state Home Minister T Devender Goud of Telugu Desam Party were on Thursday declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh along with three others. The election result was announced here after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended this afternoon. The three others elected to the Upper House of Parliament in the biennial election were former minister Palvai Govardhan Reddy and former journalist Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar of Congress; and industrialist C M Ramesh of TDP. Of the six seats from the state, Congress bagged four and TDP two.

Aakash Tablet Gets 765 Crore in Budget 2012

Aakash Tablet PC project has been allocated Rs 765 crore in Budget 2012-13, which is likely to trigger the second phase of the project expected to begin in April, even as the first phase is stuck in a deadlock. The allocation for Aakash has been made under the National Mission for Education through ICT of Ministry of Human Resource and Development. The mission had launched the low-cost tablet project, last year. According to official sources, the money allocated is 'sufficient' for the second phase of the project. Aakash-II is likely to cost the government about 569 crore for about 50 lakh tablets. "Most of the money is likely to be utilised for the Aakash project. Some of it will be utilised for developing e-content," said a senior government official involved in the project. The government plans to procure about 50 lakh tablets, in a phased manner, at 2,276 each. Half of the cost (about 1138 per tablet) will be subsidised by the central government. The rest will be borne by the state governments, who want to distribute Aakash tablets in state colleges and institutions. The billion dollar- five-year fund allocated to NME-ICT mission expired on March 31, which led to a fresh allocation by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Union Budget 2012-13. The new allocation comes even as IIT Rajasthan was unable to utilise about 25 crore allocated for phase I of the Aakash project, due to a disagreement with its vendor.  

Illegal Iron Ore Mining in Kurnool District

At a time when the stae is reeling under the biggest ever illegal mining scam, Obulapuram Mining Company belonging to Gali Janardhan Reddy, illegal mining of iron ore is still continuing unabatedly in Kurnool district. Two prominent leaders from Telugu Desam and Congress party in the district are vying with eachother in smuggling the ore out of state. The ore is being mined in Guntupalle, Ussenapuram, Papasani Kottala, Musalaya Cheruvu, Tavisikonda and the surrounding areas without any mining leases. Both the leaders are making crores of rupees by smuggling 250 to 300 trucks of iron ore everyday. Had these leaders had requisite mining leases, they ought to have paid Rs. 3600/- per truck towards Royalty and Way Bills. Though there are several check post in the area to keep a tab on illegal mining/tranporting of minerals, the concerned officials are not able to do anything in this regard due to political pressures.

Major Fire Breaks Out in Kolkata Hatibagan Market

A major fire broke out in Kolkata's Hatibagan Market in the early hours of Thursday, in which large number of shops were reduced to ashes. The fire broke out at around 2:30 am with the flames affecting shops selling meat, fish, fruits and ghee in the sprawling market, the fire brigade officials said. Crores of rupees worth damage was caused to the property. However, there was no report of any casualty or injury. Some people, reported to be trapped inside the market, were rescued later, with the fire largely under control at present. Altogether 30 fire tenders were pressed into the service to douse the flame, they said. Fire Services Minister Javed Khan, who went to the spot, said the situation was largely under control, adding that the cause of the fire was under investigation. Top police officials, including Commissioner of Kolkata Police R K Pachnanda and DC (North) Vishal Garg were also present at the site. The Rapid Action Force was deployed and traffic on roads leading to the market was controlled.    

Porn Films Should be legalised in India: Poonam

Poonam Pandey Latest News: Poonam Pandey has gone overboard and has come out in support of porn. Now, it appears that Poonam has taken her no-holds barred inhibition to a new level. It is heard that recently Poonam was sharing her thoughts at an interview for a website when she reportedly mentioned that it is high time porn films should be legalized in India. She has a justification for that.     Poonam reportedly added that almost every person will have a porn clipping or two in their cell phone and peep into it in hiding and secret. This should not be the case according to her. Given her stand on porn films and the standard she has been setting as a girl with her stills, one can imagine what philosophy she is spreading.

Kiran Kumar Reddy on AP by poll Results

AP by poll Results: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday accepted responsibility for the Congress' debacle in the bypolls to seven Assembly constituencies in the state, saying “every defeat is a lesson” to learn from. “Everyone is responsible, including me. Every defeat is a lesson and we will learn new lessons from this defeat,” Kiran Kumar said, reacting to the results this afternoon. The Congress could not win single seat. The party failed to take government's programmes to the people effectively, the chief minister said, but denied lack of coordination between him and the state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana. Replying to a question, Kiran Kumar said it was for the Centre to take the decision on the Telangana statehood issue. “Rank and file of the party need not lose heart over the results. We will review the results and rectify the lapses,” he said. Referring to the result in Mahbubnagar, where the party had pinned hopes (but where BJP won), he said a “small mistake” was made in the selection of the candidate. “We will review all such things.”

Manganese Mafia Flourishing in AP

According to reliable sources, after liquor mafia, coal mafia, mining mafia and narcotics mafia, manganese mafia is flourishing in Andhra Pradesh for the past two years with the patronage of some state ministers belonging to Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. These aides of the ministers are making crores of rupees by smuggling manganese ore in to the state from Chhattisgarh and Odisha. They clandestinely purchase the ore at very cheaper rates and smuggle it in to AP by bribing the concerned officials in the state. The ore which is purchased at Rs. 2000/- per tonne in Chhattisgarh and Odisha is being sold in AP for 14000/- per tonne. For this, the mafia has established illegal storage points at Ramabhadrapuram, Makkuva, Badangi, Garividi, Saluru, Darti Rajeru and some surrounding places. The government has given licences to some people in these areas to deal in materials like minerals, sand and granite-metal. The manganese smugglers obtain transit documents from these licenced dealers and take the ore to various places for sale. In this way the manganese mafia is flourishing multifold in the state aided by bribes and political patronage.

2 BJP MLAs Caught Watching Porn in Gujarat Assembly

2 BJP MLAs caught watching porn in Gujarat Assembly: Seems BJP MLAs are too obsessed with watching porn in live assembly sessions - First it was in Karnataka Assembly, now in Gujarat Assembly! Two senior BJP legislators in Gujarat assembly were caught watching porn video. The two MLAs, Shankar Chaudhary and Jetha Bharwad, were viewing the obscene clipping on tablet and the matter was later brought to the notice of the Gujarat Assembly Speaker by a local reporter. A month ago, Karnataka women and child welfare minister C.C. Patil was acting as the high priest of the moral brigade, advising women to adhere to a dress code to escape sexual assault on the streets. He fell from the pulpitm as he along with two other colleagues, cooperation and agricultural marketing minister Lakshman Savadi, environment and ports minister Krishna Palemar,  was seen watching porn on a mobile phone when the House was in session. The three MLAs had to submit their resignations. The BJP, however, rejected demands to disqualify the members from the assembly and expel them from the party. In Karnataka, the three MLAs had claimed that they were watching a video of an Iranian rave party where four youth had raped a girl and then murdered her brutally. They had said that they had done no crime as they were discussing the bad influence of such parties on the society. It is to be seen, what excuse these Gujarat MLAs will come forth with!!