More freebies to voters, this time from Lok Satta!!

Looks like all the political parties want to take the voters for a ride by announcing freebies to attract their votes in the mid-term polls. Not only the main parties -- the Congress and the Telugu Desam, every small or big political party is also in the race to fool the people, without understanding the financial implications of such free schemes.

The so-called idealistic party, Lok Satta, established by former bureacrat Jayaprakash Narayan, is also no exception. It has also promised nine-hour free power supply to farmers, if it comes to power in the State. And realising that he has exhausted all the existing schemes, JP has come out with a new free scheme – providing health care facilities to all people free of cost. He is promising that irrespective of the financial status, all the people would get free medical facilities at all government hospitals. There would be no user charges or paid services.

But the whole problem is whether the people would take Lok Satta so seriously. If JP thinks he can come to power by making false promises, he is certainly in fool's paradise. The people are not beggars after all. All that they want is quality of life, even if it is at a cost. They will give their verdict not on the basis of freebies, but on the credibility and performance of the political parties!!

YSR hits Diwakar Reddy below the belt!

These days, Minister for Panchayat Raj J C Diwakar Reddy is fretting and fuming at Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. Eversince, the Chief Minister came to know that Diwakar Reddy had been running a campaign against him (YSR) among the local body representatives, he had kept an eye on the minister's activities. It has come to his notice that Diwakar Reddy collected huge amounts from the local bodies employees.

So, YSR decided to checkmate Diwakar's plans. As part of this strategy, he has ordered Transport Commissioner Poonam Malakondaiah to curb the illegal transport activities of Diwakar Travels (owned by the minister), apart from the other private transport operators. Everyday, Diwakar Travels runs large number of buses from Hyderabad to different parts of Rayalaseema and Bangalore and with one go, all these bus services came to a grinding halt.

Those who know the past record of the Chief Minister can recall that Diwakar and YSR never used to see eye to eye and they were running their own groups. There were instances of one group attacking the other in Rayalaseema. Diwakar brought out several pamphlets and books against YSR and his family, which provided a lot of fodder for the Telugu Desam later. However, after YSR came to power, he had a patch up with Diwakar. The elimination of Paritala Ravi removed a major hurdle for Diwakar. And in the process of establishing himself as a powerful leader in Anantapur, he once again started questioning the authority of YSR. Indications are that they might fall apart sooner or later.

Hyderabad Buzz: Sexy Middle Aged Ladies!

There was a 30 minute program last night on a TV channel. It was about sexy middle and old aged ladies. The program was rolled on the occasion of Rekha turning 53. The entire program was about what makes Jayasudha, Jayaprada, Sreedevi, Rekha and Hema Malini look younger and beautiful without the signs of old age.

It was said that it is the professional success that makes them look younger and active. It is known fact that these ladies have several disturbances in their personal lives but they keep everything for themselves and still look lively with smiles. Finally the 30 minute program concluded that it is not the power of cosmetics and beauty therapies but only the happiness that makes people look younger. That happiness can be in the form of professional success or personal success. But for heroines the daily routine activities like exercises as per their professional demand is adding fuel for their beauty.

That's true indeed.

YSR's Rs 3-crore ultra modern bus

Andhra CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy gets himself a bulletproof bus designed by Dilip Chhabria, with high-end communication facilities
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is trying to make sure that his political journey is literally a smooth one.

A Rs 3-crore ultra modern office-cum-residence on wheels is being created for him by Dilip Chhabria’s DC Designs.

Keeping in mind the terror threats and Naxalites, the bus will be a bulletproof armored vehicle with mine-proof flooring.

The bus will function as a mini office, offering all the facilities of a high-end communication centre with fax, Internet and satellite dish.

Besides, the bus will be equipped with internal communication system. Those operating the bus would be able to view everything around the bus with front, side and rear-view cameras.

That’s not all — the CM would be able to carry out extensive election campaigns, and public contact programmes from this bus.

“It will have a captain’s chair next to the driver’s seat, from where the CM can campaign,” said George Thomas, a senior designer at DC Designs.

Reddy is said to have ordered this bus after taking a look at a similar bus designed by DC Designs for Karnataka MLA Janardhan Reddy.

The bus will have a lift cubicle similar to an elevator — a raised platform in the middle of the bus, with bulletproof glass on three sides, and steel wall on the rear.

The cubicle can be hydraulically lifted to the top of the roof. The CM can even address a public meeting, or a rally from this cubicle.

The guest lounge within the bus has been provided with nine recliner seats and a 42-inch LCD television.

The bus will also have a VIP master bedroom with a pantry, sofa-cum bed, a bathroom and of course, a vacuum toilet.