Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, February 09: Though a majority of the Congress leaders have welcomed the merger of PRP into the Congress, there is an apprehension particularly among its second rung leaders that the ‘nominated posts’ due for them will be cornered by Chiranjeevi men.

Apart from three to four Cabinet berths in the Kiran Kumar Reddy government to the PRP legislators, some MLC seats and nominated posts in various state-owned corporations and committees will also be offered to Chiranjeevi.

Hyderabad, February 09: New boy Chiranjeevi is a key element in the Congress strategy to give Jagan Mohan Reddy a run for his money in the Kadapa Lok Sabha by-election when it is held. Being a Kapu, Chiranjeevi is seen as a device to wean away the crucial vote of the Balijas (as Kapus are known in Rayalaseema) from the influence of Jagan Mohan Reddy in the constituency. There are about 1.5 lakh Balija voters in the constituency.

Hyderabad, February 09: Sixteen of the 18 Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) legislators who attended the legislature party meeting at Chiranjeevi’s residence in Jubilee Hills here today endorsed the party president’s decision to merge the party with the Congress.

The two absentees were Allagadda MLA Sobha Nagi Reddy and Banaganapalle legislator Katasani Ramireddy.

“The party will decide what action should be taken against Sobha Nagi Reddy and Ramireddy in accordance with the party’s constitution,” Chiranjeevi told mediapersons.

Hyderabad, February 09: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas has claimed that a majority of his party MLAs who were extending support to former Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy and taking part in his programmes, have been in touch with him and frequently talking to him over the phone. “I am very confident that all MLAs will stand by the Congress whenever it asks them to do so,” he said.

Speaking to newspersons at Gandhi Bhavan here today, the APCC chief, answering a query, said a typical situation was prevailing in the state.

Hyderabad, February 09: The four-year-old leopard sighted in and around Shamshabad has kept forest department officials on tenterhooks, ever since it was first spotted three weeks back. While the wild cat continues to remain elusive, its frequent visits to local villages has made them lose their sleep.

Hyderabad, February 09: The Pesticide Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) expressed concern over European Union’s proposal to categorise Endosulfan as a persistent organic pollutant (POP).

According to PMFAI, EU’s proposed move to launch new, patented, expensive products in the Indian market will be against the interests of the farming commmunity.

Hyderabad, February 09: After grilling Vijayawada-based TDP leader Vallabhaneni Vamshi in faction leader Gangula Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelacheruvu Suri’s killing, the city police are now planning to grill some of the close aides of former TDP minister the late Paritala Ravi.

The sleuths of the Central Crime Station (CCS) are likely to question self-styled commander of Reorganisation Committee (ROC) Pothula Suresh and another associate of Paritala Ravi, Chaman.

Hyderabad, February 09: Vaishnavi can barely walk though she kept on following her brother Ramu running all over the Lake View police station. While both kept playing without a care in the world, they had no inkling why they were there. Their mother Jayamma sat in one corner, undergoing a counselling session by policemen while father Narasimhulu sat outside the police station, wearing a grim look.

Hyderabad, February 09: Enjoying the puff in public places like hospitals, bars, restaurants, pubs and other government offices can be trouble. With the Hyderabad Health and Medical authority cracking the whip, habitual smokers run the risk of being caught off-guard while smoking in public.

Hyderabad, February 09: Pro-Telangana students threw shoes and eggs on the house of textiles and handlooms minister P Shankar Rao here today after the police had foiled their attempt to storm the house demanding that the minister exert pressure on the government for introduction of a bill on Telangana statehood in the ensuing session of Parliament.

Hyderabad, February 09: A CBI court convicted a former project director and deputy project director of SARPAD project of National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad and four others to imprisonment in a case related to conspiracy and cheating. The convicted are the then project director of SARPAD, K J Hebbar, who was sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 7,000. Similarly, the then deputy project director, P Madhusudhan Rao was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000.

Hyderabad, February 9: The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Mr D Srinivas, on Tuesday appointed District Congress Committee presidents to Kadapa and West Godavari districts.

According to a press release here, Mr Makam Ashok Kumar was appointed DCC president of Kadapa district while Mr Gokaraju Rama Raju as DCC president of West Godawari district.

The PCC president has approved the appointment of two DCC presidents, which came into immediate effect.

NSS

Hyderabad, February 9: The Election Commission of India has decided to hold biennial elections to the Graduates’ and Teachers’ Constituencies of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council on March 13.
The election code comes into effect from Tuesday.
This means that all Ministers from the state and the centre shall not make official visits in any district in which the biennial elections will be held.

Nellore, February 09:The senior BJP leader, Mr M Venkaiah Naidu, has said that Mr Chiranjeevi, who was a megastar in films would soon become a side hero in politics.

Talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, Mr Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress party had taken him into its fold because it got weakened.

Hyderabad, February 08: The Election Commission today announced the schedule for biennial elections to six constituencies of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council.

The elections will be held for three each of the Graduates’ constituencies and Teachers’ constituencies, state Chief Electoral Office Bhanwar Lal told reporters.

The three Graduates’ constituencies are: Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts; Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor districts and Kadapa-Anantapur and Kurnool districts.

Anantapur, February 08: Is JC Diwakar Reddy, who made vain attempts to get into the Kiran Kumar Reddy’s cabinet, inching closer to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy?

Diwakar Reddy, who was once known as the strongman of Anantapur politics, is a loner now. The seven Congress MLAS, one MP and the zilla parishad chairperson do not see eye to eye with him. This apart, several second-rung leaders of the party have serious differences with the Tadipatri legislator.

Warangal, FEbruary 08: Demanding that Rachabanda should be cancelled, Nimmala Raju (35) attempted suicide at Gorikottapalle in Regonda mandal in the presence of DCC chief and Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy today. Soon as officials and the MLA reached the village in Bhupalapally Assembly segment to conduct the mass contact programme, Raju came with a bottle of pesticide and demanded cancellation of the programme threatening to end his life if not done so.

Chittor, February 08: Two school girls were kidnapped by an auto driver in Madanapalli.According to Yerpedu SI Ramsiva Reddy, the two girls P Moulika (9) and K Manisha (11), residing in social welfare hostel were studying at Gnanodaya Missionary School in Madanapalli. They were abducted by auto driver Purushottam, after he called them on some pretext, made them fall unconscious and took them in his auto.

The two students regained consciousness when the auto was 140 km away from Madanapalli, near Yerpedu.

Hyderabad, February 08: Has the Congress succeeded in checking the rise of Jagan Mohan Reddy by roping in Chiranjeevi? The answer, according to both Congress and TDP leaders, is ‘yes’ though it is too early to say how useful Chiranjeevi will be to the ruling party when the real test comes up in 2014.

Arithmetically, the addition of the Praja Rajyam Party’s numbers to the Congress tally in the Assembly gives the Kiran Kumar Reddy government a much-needed breather given the undeclared attempt by the Jagan camp to destabilise the regime.

Warangal, February 08: Tense moments were experienced in Warangal district today with Telangana activists being taken into preventive custody for planning to stop chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy from participating in Rachabanda scheduled to be held at Rayinigudem in Mulug Assembly segment on February 10.

After a marathon exercise, district officials have finalised the chief minister’s programme in the village.

Nellore, February 08: The political scenario in the district is changing fast with the PRP-Congress merger, leading to polarisation of leaders and cadre on caste and party lines.

Hyderabad, February 08: Mystery continues to shroud the death of Varalakshmi, a B.Tech student of the Vignan Engineering College who succumbed to burns on February 2 in the city. Notwithstanding the evidence collected by the police in support of the claim of the girl’s parents that she had committed suicide, it is not clear as to why she said she had suffered accidental burns in her dying declaration.

Hyderabad, February 08: Just days after the Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams had decided to request the state government to entrust maintenance of the Lord Venkateswara on Tirumala and other temples under it to the Archaeological Survey of India, officials of the Department of Archaeology & Museums joined issue with the TTD, saying that it is the DAM which should be the competent authority to protect the TTD temples and certainly not the ASI.

Hyderabad, February 08: The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) on Monday said it was against the proposal putforth by the Emaar Properties to settle the ongoing dispute between the two in the controversial Emaar Hills Township Project Ltd (EHTPL). It also said the developer should withdraw the court case against the APIIC before opting for a negotiation.

Hyderabad, February 08: Senior IPS officer Tejdeep Kaur Menon, in the eye of a storm for allegedly thrashing a couple and intimidating them over a property dispute involving her close friend, wants the case to be reinvestigated.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which found Menon guilty

on all counts, had recently directed the State government to pay Rs 4 lakh immediate interim relief to the couple.