Hyderabad, January 21: Former APIIC chairman and late YSR’s close aide Ambati Rambabu today brushed aside the rumours that former Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy would return to the Congress before the 2014 general election. On the contrary, he said, leaders of the ruling party would join Jagan’s new political party as the Congress would be ‘finished’ in the state by then.
Tirumala, January 21: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s (TTD) dream of giving a golden veneer to the Venkateswara temple has been wound up by the Specified Authority.
This puts to rest the project which was dogged by controversy ever since it was conceived by former TTD chairman D K Audikeshavulu Naidu.
The project, titled Ananda Nilaya Anantha Swarnamayam, envisaged gold plating of the 24.8 ft walls around the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
It would have required 218 kg of gold and 6.8 tonnes of copper.
Hyderabad, January 21: Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu today called upon the people to expose the government’s failures in the ‘Racchabanda’ programme.
In a tele-talk with party activists, Naidu alleged that Racchabanda was aimed to divert the attention of the people from its inefficient governance.
He wanted the party cadre to highlight issues like frequent change of chief ministers, the failure of the state government before Krishna Water Tribunal, corruption of YS Jagan and his links with faction gangs and land settlements in the Racchabanda programme.
Hyderabad, January 21: The state government is keen on expediting all the ongoing power projects to meet the ever-growing demand for power, which increases 10 per cent every year.
The APGenco has embarked on an ambitious programme of capacity addition in the next four years, member-secretary of the newly-created Energy Coordination Cell (ECC) A Chandrasekhara Reddy has said.
Hyderabad, January 21: Telangana Bhavan, the other day, resembled a setting for a mega-block buster by SS Rajamouli.
Standing in front was TRS honcho K Chandrasekhar Rao, shooting for Jai Bolo Telangana – a film on Telangana movement. But there was something amiss. Film actress-turned-Medak MP Vijayashanti was nowhere around. If a film shooting takes place at a place like Telangana Bhavan, Vijayashanti should be there as she was a film actrress first and politician later. Further, she is identified as Ramulamma for her role in Ose Ramulamma.
But why?
Nellore, January 21: A 50-year-old gold merchant was thrashed with iron rods and robbed of Rs 75 lakh gold and cash by two unidentified miscreants near Apollo Beedi factory, here today.
According to police, Satish Jain, a wholesale gold merchant who owns Sri Gold in Chinna Bazaar area, had taken 4.5 kg gold ornaments for sales in Vijayawada, had sold some of it and returned back with the remaining ornaments.
He got down at the Nellore railway station and was returning home near Apollo Beedi factory, when he was mugged by masked miscreants.
Hyderabad, January 21: With an aim to empower the adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years, the Central government chose seven districts in the state for implementation of ‘SABLA’ also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG) for the current financial year. The government will take up various programmes for empowerment of adolescent girls by improving their nutritional and health status, upgradation of home skills, life skills and vocational skills.
Hyderabad, January 21: The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of government employees in Andhra Pradesh today threatened to intensify their ongoing stir if the state government failed to invite them for talks by tomorrow evening.
“This government does not care a bit even if the employees are on strike. More than what we get, we want to protect the system of government employees. If the government does not invite us for talks by tomorrow, we will go on an indefinite hunger strike,” JAC leader K Swamy Goud told reporters.
RESIGNATION THREAT
Hyderabad, January 21:The expansion of the Union Council of Ministers by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday, without inducting any one from Andhra Pradesh, has caused deep resentment among the ruling Congress MPs of the State.
Hyderabad, January 21:Jagan supporter and former Congress MLA, Mr Ambati Rambabu, has said that the Congress party was a sinking ship and would disappear from the political scene 2014.
Two students killed in accident
Tirupati, January 21:Two students were killed in a road accident near Mangalam in Chittoor district on Thursday.
According to police, a bus hit the motorcycle of the students killing them on the spot. The deceased were identified as Mahesh and Mithilesh, engineering college students of the Sri Venkateswara University.
————–NSS
Hyderabad, January 20: Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who allayed fears of his Cabinet colleagues from Telangana on Rachchabanda, now has chosen to launch the programme in north Coastal Andhra on January 24. The programme, aimed at implementing all welfare programmes on a saturation basis and also to ensure that eligible persons get benefited from these programmes, will be launched at Rajam in Srikakulam on January 24.
On the same day, the chief minister will visit Gushidi in Nellimerla constituency in Vizianagaram district as part of the programme.
Adilabad, January 20: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao has warned that Congress and TDP MLAs will have no political future in the region if they do not resign for the cause of separate Telangana. TRS MLAs who resigned from their posts were re-elected with double majority in the bypolls, he reminded.
Hyderabad, January 20: The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), which has decided to support the government of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, wants the government to release funds liberally to the Assembly segments represented by the PRP.
An emergency meeting of the party at president K Chiranjeevi’s residence today took stock of the political situation. However, a majority of the PRP MLAs did not attend the meeting due to ‘personal reasons’.
Vijayawada, January 20: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalakshmi would contest the coming bypolls to the Kadapa Parliament seat and Pulivendula Assembly seat under the banner of his soon-to-be-launched political party, Ambati Rambabu, a party leader and Jagan supporter announced today.
Though they were also eager to announce the name of the party, they would have to wait for the completion of the formalities of registering the party with the Election Commission, he added.
Hyderabad, January 20: The Union Cabinet reshuffle initially sent MPs from the State into a state of “depression.” Soon, it turned into rage. While some began to fret and fume in public, the others kept a stiff upper lip.
Warangal, January 20: Telangana activists of Khilashapuram in Raghunadhapalli mandal, the native place of IT minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, vowed to stay away from liquor, as part of their agitation for separate Telangana.
They also decided to make the entire village practise teetotalism voluntarily. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held in the village four days ago and women have come to the forefront to ensure its practice. Khilashapuram is native place of several prominent persons including former DGP of the state Pervaram Ramulu.
Hyderabad, January 20: The CPI today urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a clear stand on Telangana issue and end the uncertainty.
In a letter to Sonia Gandhi, CPI state secretary K Narayana said: “The Srikrishna committee report has added further confusion on the Telangana issue which is responsible for the present uncertain situation. Ultimately political process is the only way…
Hyderabad, January 20: At a time when Andhra and Rayalaseema MPs are preparing for their meeting with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow, their leader Kavuri Sambasiva Rao had unexpected visitors at his residence at Delhi today.
A group of Telangana MPs, led by Manda Jagannadham, met the Eluru MP and urged him to agree to option V of the Srikrishna Committee which favoured division of the state.
Hyderabad, January 20: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) today urged Director General of Police (DGP) K Aravind Rao to reopen the suicide case of realtor GNM Mastan Rao in public interest.
The TDP told the DGP that Mastan Rao had stated in the suicide note that criminal gangs were operating in the city claiming links with YS Jagan Reddy, son of the late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
Karimnagar, January 20: Headmaster of Vignana High School in Jagtial was booked for beating a Class III student who skipped the half-yearly examinations in the school. According to Jagtial CI Krishna, the victim, Sameer, today appeared for the ongoing half-yearly examinations in the school.
Seeing Sameer, headmaster-cum-correspondent of the school Ravinder Rao became furious and asked why he was absent for exams held last two days. Rao reportedly gave no chance to Sameer for explaining about his ill-health.
Hyderabad, January 20: Puna resident G Venugopal begged his boss for leave so that he could go to Hyderabad to take his driving test. He had earned the time slot at the Medchal test track after much effort. Today, he turned up at the testing track only to find RTA staff on a ‘pen-down’ strike. Naturally, he was under the collar, as he tried vainly to argue his case with the officials present.
Hyderabad, January 20: Bringing the activities in all government departments, organisations and schools to a grinding halt, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Employees, Teachers and Workers today organised a pen down, chalk down and tool down programme across the state. Nearly 10 lakh employees, teachers and workers participated in the programme protesting against the delay in fulfilling their demands.
Hyderabad, January 20: A private bus fell into a roadside ditch injuring nearly 15 of its occupants at Hayathnagar on the outskirts of the city today. Three of them suffered serious injuries and fractures and are being treated at a hospital while the others escaped with minor injuries.
Hyderabad, January 20: A man killed his wife reportedly suspecting her of infidelity while in another incident a woman killed her husband unable to bear his harassment.
In the first incident, 24-year-old T Radha was strangled to death allegedly by her husband at Shivaramapally. Radha was married to Ashok three years ago and they were residing at Raghavendra Colony where they used to run a tea stall. Police said Ashok used to harass his wife suspecting her character and they used to have frequent quarrels over this.