Third Front? It has already collapsed: Yechury

The newly formed eight-party Third Front has already collapsed, Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury says, hinting that his party is moving closer again to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to form a 'third alternative'.

Saying that the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) had become 'redundant' after the AIADMK broke ranks to back Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the presidential election, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Yechury made it clear that his party stood for 'a third alternative, not a Third Front'.

Yechury indicated in an interview with IANS that there may not be much hindrance to the creation of a new alliance of parties genuinely opposed to both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

'I think it (UNPA) is already redundant with (AIADMK leader J.) Jayalalitha going her way in the presidential election. This also points to the fallacy of forming fronts as distinct from ideologically based alternatives,' he said.

'We have all along maintained that we are for a third alternative and not a third front, and we are trying to create this third alternative the way we visualize it,' he said.

'That (demands) unity on various issues like the negative impact of economic reforms and a concerted and determined fight against communalism. We are willing to align with those forces to create a third alternative that are ready to come with us on both these issues. We are on the job,' he added.

Yechury also made it evident that the CPI-M was all set to make up with the TDP, its former ally and now the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh.

'It's not us who broke away from the TDP, it is the other way round. The TDP broke away from us on issues relating to economic reforms and communalism,' said the Rajya Sabha MP and politburo member of the party. 'It is they who went over to the other side.'

Yechury was responding to a question: 'Do you rule out any realignment with the TDP in the next general election?'

The presidential election, won by the Congress-Left-BSP candidate Pratibha Patil, also saw the Samajwadi Party, a long-time CPI-M ally, move away and join hands with the Third Front along with the TDP and others.

Yechury said the Samajwadi Party, now the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, was also with the Marxists on the issue of battling communalism as well as rightwing economic policies.

The police firing on CPI-M workers in Khammam in Andhra Pradesh last month, leading to the death of six communists, has sparked a war of words between the CPI-M and the Congress.

But Yechury played down any threat to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in New Delhi as a consequence.

'The problems between the Congress and the Left have existed for long in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. That didn't prevent us from supporting the Congress and the UPA at the national level to prevent communal forces from coming to power.

'But to think that this (Andhra police firing) will have no effect whatsoever is also not correct because the way the Congress is targeting the CPI-M, it will definitely have a souring effect (in our relations).'

On the Indo-US nuclear deal, once a sore point with the Left, Yechury said so far he has no grouse against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

'Our position is that the bottom line is the assurance given by the prime minister on Aug 17 last year in the Rajya Sabha. I had raised nine areas of concern in which India's interests should not be compromised.

'To be fair to the prime minister, he gave an assurance,' said Yechury. 'The prime minister claims that all the nine points are met. He said this pointing a finger at me and reminding me of my nine points.'

TDP charges congress of wasting public money

Accusing the Congress government of wasting public money on publicity, the main opposition TDP demanded a white paper on the funds spent on publicity during the last three years.

Though congress had in the past criticised the tdp regime on publicity spending, it had been going overboard to promote the image of Chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, senior TDP Legislator E Dayakar Rao alleged at a press conference here.

He challenged the government to publish a white paper covering the previous government's expenditure also. alleging that the government had drawn up a Rs 100 crore publicity blitzkrieg, Rao said his party would take the issue to the people and the day was not far off when the ruling party would be taught a fitting lesson for its misdeeds.

Citing the instance of Health minister S Chandrasekhar facing the public wrath yesterday at Mudigonda village, the scene of the July 28 police firing that claimed seven lives, he said a similar fate awaited the ruling party leaders. the TDP leader claimed that the government's reported move to launch a major publicity drive was aimed at covering up its omissions and commissions.

"However, they will not succeed in their designs, however hard they may try," Rao added.

TDP charges congress of wasting public money

Accusing the Congress government of wasting public money on publicity, the main opposition TDP demanded a white paper on the funds spent on publicity during the last three years.

Though congress had in the past criticised the tdp regime on publicity spending, it had been going overboard to promote the image of Chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, senior TDP Legislator E Dayakar Rao alleged at a press conference here.

He challenged the government to publish a white paper covering the previous government's expenditure also. alleging that the government had drawn up a Rs 100 crore publicity blitzkrieg, Rao said his party would take the issue to the people and the day was not far off when the ruling party would be taught a fitting lesson for its misdeeds.

Citing the instance of Health minister S Chandrasekhar facing the public wrath yesterday at Mudigonda village, the scene of the July 28 police firing that claimed seven lives, he said a similar fate awaited the ruling party leaders. the TDP leader claimed that the government's reported move to launch a major publicity drive was aimed at covering up its omissions and commissions.

"However, they will not succeed in their designs, however hard they may try," Rao added.

Green Card groom? No thanks!

WHILE the very nature of urban marriages has altered drastically in recent times, the selection of suitable partners is also undergoing major changes. For one thing, it’s no longer a case of ‘Green Card holder preferred’, once a common line in matrimonial ads.

“Earlier, many parents preferred an NRI groom because they believed he was better settled and had better career opportunities,” explains Manjunath Bijahalli, co-founder of the Returned NRI Association. “When we left India, it was with the knowledge that we would be earning six-to-seven times more than our peers back home. But today, with the economic boom and rising salaries in India, going to the US is not as attractive as before,” he says.

Records at various matrimonial services reflect this trend. “If a woman has to choose between a goodlooking, rich prospect in Sydney and a less-endowed groom from Mumbai, she is now more likely to pick the latter,” says Prithvi Banwasi, owner of a marriage bureau. “It’s not just that India is progressing rapidly; it’s also because an increasing number of young women getting married and going abroad face unhappy circumstances.”

According to advocate Sachidanand Murthy, “Many girls complain of physical abuse and infidelity when they join their husbands abroad. In these marriages, there often isn’t enough time to get to know the groom or check his credentials. That’s a risk modern, independent women are not willing to take,” he adds. Take, for instance, the case of Preeti Sharma. “When I met my husband here he seemed to be a confident individual, who promised me love and support,” she says. “But within days of joining him in the US I realised he was an alcoholic who would get aggressive with me. When efforts to get him to change his ways failed, I fled. I was working in a software firm here and earning good money. It didn’t seem worth suffering when I could get my life back.”

Aditi Kapur returned within a month of joining her husband in the UK. “He was a loner and said he had married only because his parents had forced him to. He made this shocking revelation just a couple of days after I landed there. He didn’t have many friends, wouldn’t talk to me or take me out anywhere. I became depressed and after two months, begged my parents to get me back,” Aditi says.

Having heard of this and other similar experiences, Ramya Rao and her parents decided to stick to a desi groom. “At least I am with my own people and if things go wrong, I can move on with my life,” says Ramya.

Marriage counsellor Saul Pereira says he has seen many women do better in their lives after their divorce. “Although I don’t encourage breaking up relationships, you can’t fool the modern woman,” he says. “They are not as tolerant as the previous generation. Five years ago, a woman would plead to stay with a husband no matter what; today’s girls are leaving their husbands if their expectations are not met.”

Saul says that it’s important to get pre-marital counselling for youngsters, especially in NRI marriages. “It helps develop coping mechanisms. And it’s always better to run a background check on prospective grooms, not just for financial stability, but lifestyle and regular habits,” he says.

There are no doubt many examples of successful NRI marriages. “

alk: BJP signature campaign on Telangana

The Bharatiya Janata Party will undertake a signature campaign in the entire region as part of efforts to exert pressure on the government to ensure formation of separate Telangana before 2009.

Accordng to party sources, the party will organise conventions and other interactive sessions to step up the separate Telangana movement and achieve statehood to the region at the earliest. The Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy managed to stay back in the post by convincing AICC president Sonia Gandhi despite the vociferous demands for his replacement in the aftermath of the Mudigonda incident, he said. The inept administration of the Congress government has virtually destabilized all crucial spheres.

The BJP leadership are of the view that there is a need to take up joint struggles by all the opposition parties to revive the democratic values in the State. Any takers?

Buzz: TRS comes to the rescue of Cong!

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi is doing what the Congress is unable to do with regard to taking on the Communists in their own soil.

TRS President K Chandrasekhar Rao, who has been touring the Singareni Coal belt from Khammam to Adilabad, has been attacking the Communists more vociferously than the Congress, which is sitting pretty now. While expressing sympathies to the members of the bereaved families of Mudigonda firing victims, KCR lambasted the Communists for playing with the lives of innocent Telangana farmers in the name of land agitation. He has been telling the public that the Communists would always play a second fiddle to the parties like the Congress and the Telugu Desam, but hoodwink the people saying they were fighting form them. In fact, they were making innocent people scapegoats in their so called agitation.

The Congress leadership is more than happy, as there is at least one party which is supporting it in tackling the land struggles launched by the Communists. Though KCR is trying to give a Telangana twist to the land struggles, the Congress has found reason to convince the people about the dubious role of the Communists.

Fact Sheet: It's TRS vs TRS in Singareni polls!

Strange as it might sound, the elections for recognized Union in the Singareni is being fought between two groups, each led by a TRS leader.

The elections are fought between Singareni Miners and Engineering Workers Union affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor Sangh and the Telangana Boggugani Karmika Sangham affiliated to TRS. The HMS is being led by TRS MLA Nayani Narasimha Reddy, who is campaigning for its affiliate SMEWU, while none other than TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao is campaigning for TBKS.

Nayani Narasimha Reddy was leading the HMS in the sate before he joining the TRS and continuing association with TRS and held position in the same. And, he, too has been focussing on the Telangana demand. In view of Nayani's lead role in the TRS, Prof. Kodandaram Reddy, Convenor of 'Telangana Vidya Vanthula Vedika' mediated and held talks with local leaders of HMS to put up joint fight by Telangana Singaeni Employees Union (TSEU), TBGKS and HMS. But talks were failed with HMS and now TBGKS and TSEU fighting the elections jointly.

The leaders of TBGK leaders are now alleging that the HMS was indirectly supporting the INTUC affiliate to the Congress, which was sabotaging the Telangana cause. But it is yet to be known whether this unhealthy contenst will spoil the relationship between Nayani and KCR.

TDP charges congress of wasting public money

Accusing the Congress government of wasting public money on publicity, the main opposition TDP demanded a white paper on the funds spent on publicity during the last three years.

Though congress had in the past criticised the tdp regime on publicity spending, it had been going overboard to promote the image of Chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, senior TDP Legislator E Dayakar Rao alleged at a press conference here.

He challenged the government to publish a white paper covering the previous government's expenditure also. alleging that the government had drawn up a Rs 100 crore publicity blitzkrieg, Rao said his party would take the issue to the people and the day was not far off when the ruling party would be taught a fitting lesson for its misdeeds.

Citing the instance of Health minister S Chandrasekhar facing the public wrath yesterday at Mudigonda village, the scene of the July 28 police firing that claimed seven lives, he said a similar fate awaited the ruling party leaders. the TDP leader claimed that the government's reported move to launch a major publicity drive was aimed at covering up its omissions and commissions.

"However, they will not succeed in their designs, however hard they may try," Rao added.

Telugu to be taught in Hebrew University

The Israel-based Hebrew University has decided to introduce a course in Telugu at the postgraduate level. The Telugu course will begin from the next academic year in Tel Aviv.

Sri Potti Sriramulu Telugu University will conduct the course in Hebrew University. The State government has given its nod to the Telugu University to go ahead with the new course.

The State government will fund Rs 10 lakh to enable introduction of the Telugu course.

Telugu University received a letter from the director of the Depatrtment of Asian Languages in Hebrew University saying that students in Israel are showing keen interest in learning Telugu.

Telugu to be taught in Hebrew University

The Israel-based Hebrew University has decided to introduce a course in Telugu at the postgraduate level. The Telugu course will begin from the next academic year in Tel Aviv.

Sri Potti Sriramulu Telugu University will conduct the course in Hebrew University. The State government has given its nod to the Telugu University to go ahead with the new course.

The State government will fund Rs 10 lakh to enable introduction of the Telugu course.

Telugu University received a letter from the director of the Depatrtment of Asian Languages in Hebrew University saying that students in Israel are showing keen interest in learning Telugu.

Nagaphani Sharma's 2nd Innings From Haridwar

The scandalous scholar Madugula Nagaphani Sharma has been in oblivion from many months ever since he was alleged in a molestation case. Although no proceedings in that case have seen light, Nagaphani Sharma has been living far from lime light. Now after a long hibernation he is getting ready to start his second innings. But that is not from anywhere in AP.

As Sharma is a great scholar in Sanskrit as well, he is flying to Haridwar in Uttaranchal state to conduct Bhagawad Saptaaham for 7 days there. His brother in law is playing the coordinator role in this.

So, multifaceted Sharma can make his living anywhere in his own style. The event is going to held between September-October.

Andhra Politics is all Maya

Even as politics in the state took a new turn last week with the unprecedented police firing in Mudigonda, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s long shadow has started falling on Andhra Pradesh. No, Mayawati has not disclosed her intention to mobilise the Dalits in Andhra Pradesh. Neither has she commented on the Khammam firing incident, but with her ascendancy to power in the largest state in the country, New Delhi’s outlook towards the creation of a separate Telangana state has changed. If the thinking in Raisina Hills previously was to seriously consider forming the new state if that would help the fortunes of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh in Elections 2009, that point of view has now been jettisoned. This since Mayawati would hate any move to create smaller states. Reason? The pressure will be on her to agree for breaking Uttar Pradesh into two smaller states, compact and easier to administer. In fact, the ideological battle has already begun with even unrelated people including former cabinet secretary B G Deshmukh mouthing the theory that no state should be allowed to have more than 10 per cent of the total seats in Lok Sabha.
It would not be lost on the Dalit queen that this ideology is being propagated only to keep her away from being a major force in the politics of Delhi. But that she will be in the run up to Elections 2009, and for that reason the Congress party diametrically opposed to both Mulayam Singh Yadav and BJP-have to get her on their side. It is no gain saying that the Telangana movement has become defunct (at least for the time being) what with many netas of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) being compromised in the fake passport scam. And although TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced his padyatra, nobody really has faith in his ability to keep the momentum up. “Had the movement for Telangana generated immense pressure at the ground level then the Mayawati factor could have been offset by this movement. But then there is not much evidence of this,” a political analyst said. Babu’s offensive
In fact, Telangana is on the back-burner for the time being what with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu having launched a full scale offensive against the government of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. With Naidu and YSR being on the same wavelength as far as Telangana is concerned (both don’t want a separate state), the political discourse till last fortnight was all about the performance of the incumbent government and the riches allegedly amassed by YSR and his ministers. Naidu brigade’s charge has been that the government is very very corrupt and has nothing to show on the ground. With Mudigonda happening, Naidu has latched himself to the Left agenda of land reforms and is now making common cause with them. The unstated offer from Naidu to the Left: “Let’s work together, With such a small vote base that you Left parties have, you can come to power only riding piggyback on a bigger party like TDP. There is no scope for a third option in the bi-polar polity of AP.” But sections of the Left would not have anything to do with him precisely because they feel that Naidu’s TDP being the bigger partner will corner the electoral benefits that this agenda may yield.
Moreover they also feel that TDP is itself a ‘bourgeoise’ party and therefore not in a position to participate in the movement. The whole programme of landfor-the-landless will go off track with the involvement of the TDP, they aver. Some of them feel that while opposing the Congress, they can still gain by remaining in limited alliance with that party. As 2009 comes closer Naidu and TDP will bank more and more on the anti-incumbency factor that will hit the YSR government. Chandrababu Naidu is also trying to weave a magic around the name of N T Rama Rao and hopes that this will fetch votes. After all NTR is the man who a quarter century ago entered the Andhra political scene as a tornado, displacing the Congress for the first time in the state. NTR’s son and film actor Balakrishna will be used to substitute for his father, in some way. Naidu’s problem is that his party’s policies are similar to that of the Congress. Both the parties are for growth, increasing agricultural production and economic liberalisation. “So TDP perforce has to bank only on the anti-incumbency of the YSR government,” an analyst said. YSR’s gameplan
No neta in power will ever give it up, willingly. This is especially true for Y S Rajasekhara Reddy who came to his present position after immense labour and toil. YSR has been in state politics for the last quarter of a century but it took ten year’s of anti-incumbency of the Naidu regime and padyatras across the state to bring him to power. It is clear that YSR will do what he can to retain power and get back to the CM’s gaddi at the next election. Of course Congress politics is all about the high command destabilising regional satraps every now and then. But this strategy, perfected during the time of Indira Gandhi, is these days being played at a very low-key level. Not surprising because the Congress of Sonia Gandhi is not the Congress of the yore of Indira Gandhi.
New Delhi’s new strategy is a measure of relief for YSR, but more important is the fact there are no internal challengers for his gaddi. In the state, the Hyderabad brothers—Shashidhar Reddy and P Janardhan Reddy—who are the most visible faces of dissidence are not strong enough. At the centre, Jaipal Reddy is almost petrified to raise his voice in Hyderabad. Former chief minister N Janardhan Reddy does not have age on his side. Pradesh Congress chief Keshava Rao is a paper tiger. And aspirant for the CM’s post in 2004, D Srinivas, a minister in YSR’s cabinet is a non-entity. This in spite of the fact that he is a member of the other backward castes (OBC), which these days is politically the most important caste. Equally important, YSR who by now has perfected the art of realpolitik, has friends in the Delhi durbar. Those in the know of things say that he keeps them happy and in turn they speak up for him when required. Besides YSR also maintains good relations with both Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Even as he has kept New Delhi happy, YSR’s feudal background has helped him in politics. Loyalty comes naturally to him, as do relationships of all kinds: caste, kin, region and friendships. Armed with these YSR has built a strong network of loyalists who swear by him. “YSR banks on these and very rightly so,” says an analyst. In fact there is a line of thinking that if YSR is pushed into a corner by the high command, the possibility of his breaking the Congress party in the state and creating an “Andhra Congress” party cannot be ruled out. “If that happens, politics of Andhra Pradesh will become like the politics of Tamil Nadu. There will be two regional parties vying for power and the national parties will have to say bye bye,” the analyst said. Of course, at the present moment there is no indication of all this happening. For the time being, YSR is busy disengaging the Left from the TDP and patching up with the former. With Manmohan Singh’s government dependent on Left support, he has been told to make up with the Red brigade. In particular he will have to devote his attention to CPM’s state secretary B V Raghavalu and Sitaram Yechury of the central unit. That’s not going to be an easy job. No OBC consolidation
Over fifty years ago, one of India’s most famous sociologist M N Srinivas noted how Indian politics revolved around castes. About Andhra Pradesh he pointed out that the Reddys entered the Congress party, while their rivals in the village society, the Kammas entered the Communist party. This trend had become so pronounced that oldtimers remember how they used to jeer that it was not Communist but ‘Kammanist’ party. Even as the Congress made headway in state politics, the Communists remained far behind. Due to changes in national level politics, the Communist party broke down into the CPI and the CPM.
It was only in the early 1980s, celluloid hero N T Rama Rao burst into the political scene riding on the sentiment of neglect at the hands of the central government that the Telugus were feeling and also riding on Kamma aspirations. The only constant in Indian politics is change. Even as the Reddys and Kammas dominated the Andhra Pradesh electoral scene with their minuscule numbers, an OBC ferment has begun in the state. Numerically the OBCs comprise 50 per cent of the electorate of the state, but their voice in Andhra Pradesh politics is not really heard. But OBC consciousness is now increasing, especially among the Kapus and Gouds. This, by itself does not help because the OBCs are divided. Even Kapus do not present an unified picture: Kapus of Telangana are different from that of the coastal districts, who are distinct from those in Rayalaseema. The Kapus, the most likely candidates for leadership of the OBC grouping, are in search of a leader. Tentatively they have zeroed in on superhero of Tollywood, Chiranjeevi. The gamble is that Chiranjeevi with his appeal cutting across castes might be able to weave a magic, in the same way that N T Rama Rao did 25 years ago. The problem? Chiranjeevi himself. Analysts across the board think that the star is not quite ready to take the jump into the ocean of politics. But the Kapus are keeping their fingers crossed. They know that if Chiranjeevi has to enter politics, it has to be now. Otherwise it will be too late to weld the Kapus together into a composite force.

Report: Why did Narendra choose to join BSP?

The reports that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (N) president A Narendra is toying with the idea of joining Bahujan Samaj Party has raised many an eyebrow in the political circles.

First question that arose was why Narendra chose to join the BSP. The argument once again is that there is a possibility of Dalits in Andhra Pradesh getting consolidated and wrest power from the upper castes on the lines of BSP in Uttar Pradesh, provided they fight unitedly. Though the BSP has a very little presence in AP with just one MLA, there is also every possibility that it would grow into a full fledged political party if there is a strong leader to take the lead role. So far, the BSP doesn't have any strong leader. So, Narendra might have thought he would get the lead role in building the BSP in Andhra Pradesh.

But whether BSP president Mayawati would accept Narendra as the leader of BSP in AP is a difficult question. First, Narendra is not a Dalit leader but only a BC leader. Secondly, Narendra has been identified with the separate Telangana movement and a strong votary of this struggle. On the other hand, the BSP would not like to confine itself to just a few pockets of Telangana, but would like to grow into a bigger player in the AP politics. Therefore, Narendra might not fit the bill.

Why then is Narendra is meeting Mayawati? He tried to project himself as an alternative leader to K Chandrasekhar Rao and launched his own party, but he is not able to receive any support from any people or cadres, except a handful of leaders around him. So, if he gets the support from his old fried Mayawati, it would be useful to him politically. Hence, the idea, observers say.

Leftists play dual role at Centre and State

There appears to be no consistency in the stand taken by the Communist parties – CPI and CPI-M – insofar as having an alliance with the Congress. A strange phenemenon is now being witnessed in their political stand at the Centre and the State.

Going by the reports from New Delhi, it is apparently not happy with the United Progressive Government at the Centre. Its national secretary A B Bardhan has been openly saying that the CPI might withdraw its support to the UPA government at any time, because the Manmohan Singh government is caring a damn for the CPI's suggestions. Therefore, Bardhan is accusing the Congress of going against the Common Minmum Programme. He is even pressurising the CPI-M to withdraw its support to the UPA government.

On the other hand, the CPI-M has been showing a soft corner towards the UPA government, inspite of the latter deviating from the CMP at times. Its national secretary Prakash Karat is dead against withdrawal of support to the UPA, as it would only help the BJP to stage a comeback.

In AP, these parties are going exactly in the opposite direction. The CPM has been colluding with the Telugu Desam to pull down Rajasekhara Reddy government, while the CPI is discreetly supporting it. If at all the TD comes back into power in 2009, then the Communists change their colours very quickly. So, that is Communism!!

Fact Sheet: Madam pulls up maverick KK!

The maverick Pradesh Congress Committee president K Kesava Rao, who is known for his foot-in-the-mouth syndrome, had to incur the wrath of Madam Sonia Gandhi for losing tongue at the Communist parties.

Sonia summoned Kesava Rao along with Chief Minister to New Delhi to seek their personal explanation on the Mudigonda firing incident. While YSR could give a convincing explanation to the Madam about the incident, Kesava Rao tried to project an intellectual perspective of the land struggle by communists. But Sonia had already in posession of the report obtained from the State about Kesava Rao's diatribe against the Communist parties, particularly CPI-M leader B V Raghavulu, attributing casteist feelings to him. She gave a dressing down to Kesava Rao for spoiling the relations between the CPI-M and the Congress, as it had created a sensitive situation for the UPA government at the Centre. She reportedly instructed him to remove the bad blood between the two parties.

A red-faced Kesava Rao had to tell mediapersons later that the Communists were still his friends of the Congress and they had a lot of common interests. He gave an explanation that he had already withdrawn the comments he had made against Raghavulu and was ready to apologise. Despite his foul-mouthing, Kesava Rao got an assurance from the high command that he would not be replaced at this juncture.

Political parties responsible for violence: Court

The AP High Court has felt that political parties should be held responsible for any violence that takes place during agitation sponsored by them, like dharnas, rasta rokos and protest demonstrations.

The HC was hearing arguments on a writ petition filed by Telugu Desam secretary PNV Prasad on Mudigonda police firing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice G S Singhvi and Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy said leaders who instigate agitators should be arrested.

Industrialist KS Raju gets six months jail term

Nagarjuna Finance Limited promoter-director KS Raju has been sentenced to a jail term of six months in a contempt case.

The AP High Court on Friday sentenced Raju to the jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 2000. The court also asked him to bear the food expenses while serving the prison term.

Justice Anand Reddy pronounced the judgement for wilfully disobeying of the orders of the court.

Edupuganti Bapanaiah, resident of Kolluru village in Guntur district, filed a contempt petition against Raju, N Selvaraj, president of Nagarjuna Finance Limited and Nagarjuna Finance.

He urged the court that the respondents had wilfully disobeyed the orders passed by Company Law Board, Chennai, seven years ago. They had also committed breach of the affidavit filed in the court in April, 2001.

Political Talk: Sonia gives clean chit to YSR

The dissidents in the state are in for a shock. They hoped that the Mudigonda issue would put chief minister YS Rajashekar Reddy in the dock. But their fond hopes are fizzling out fast. The PM Manmohan Singh who was in Hyderabad in the aftermath of the Mudigonda incident did not say a word against the CM or the government.

Now party chief Sonia Gandhi has also not said or done anything that gives an impression that she is not happy with the functioning of the Rajashekar Reddy government. In fact, she is reported to have gone ahead and patted the CM on his back for doing a fairly good job.

The chief minister is in Delhi and he met party chief Sonia Gandhi. The meeting lasted for well over an hour. In the meeting the Chief Minster is said to have explained to Sonia Gandhi the events leading to the firing incident at Mudigonda.

Sonia is reported to have agreed with the view of the CM that the government not only reacted very fast but also had no role in the unfortunate incident that led to the death of seven people. (The toll has now gone up to eight).

Sonia is said to have advised the CM not to take too much notice of the criticism of the opposition parties but instead, he should step up the developmental works.

So YSR returns from Delhi with a fait accompli. His hands have now been further strengthened after meting Sonia Gandhi. He has managed to curb any threat of dissidence against him from his party men. Sonia is also expected to sort out the difference with the leftists at the national level.

Sonia had also called PJR to Delhi last week and that issue is also now a closed chapter. So YS is now grinning as he has managed to convince Sonia Gandhi that he is doing his best.

So the threat that was looming large over YSR’s head seems to have been blown away now.

potlight: Dogs cheaper than police!

Strange as it might sound, the Police department has come to a conclusion that trained dogs work out to be cheaper than recruiting more policemen.

Official sources say the department is planning to increase tracker dogs services on a large scale, as they are not only cheaper, but also more effective than the policemen due to the special ability. Each police circle in the State will get tracker dogs facility with in short period. To meet this new methodology the police officers were trying to procure Alsatian, Doberman Pinscher, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Cocker Spaniel breed of dogs.

Since dogs have extraordinary power of sniffing, Ultrasonic hearing capability, and possess night vision capability, the department feels dogs are ready to work under all geo-climatic conditions, relatively inexpensive and easy to train. Police officials strongly believe that dogs are faithful, alert and be trained to be aggressive.

Now, proposals are flooding from all the districts for getting more dogs. Why then are the police? Let it be a dog's department!

Fact Sheet: Yet another party for Dalits in AP!

The formation of a full-fledged Dalit government in Uttar Pradesh has rekindled a hope among the Dalit outfits in Andhra Pradesh, that they too can dream of such a Dalit government in the State.

However, what is lacking among them is a force that unites different outfits whose leaders have their own motives. As a result, more and more groups are coming up with their individual agenda. So, yet another party has come from Dalits in the name of Rajyadhikara Party, whose founder president V G R Naragoni announced that the sole intention of the party was to fight for power to Bahujans in the elections slated for 2009 and for over all development and up lift of back ward communities including SC and STs in the State.

Already, there is an attempt to bring all the parties fighting for the oppressed sections on to one forum with an objective of bringing weaker sections to power, but there is no cohesion among these parties mainly because the leaders are selfish. No wonder, they are being exploited by upper caste-dominated parties like Congress, Telugu Desam and TRS!

Arguments between CPI leaders and BVR!

The Telugu Desam, which is waiting in the wings to capitalise on every issue that embarasses the government, has virtually created serious differences between the CPI and CPI-M leaders.

After the Mudigonda incident, the CPI-M is keen to draw support of other parties, more particularly TD, so that it can form an anti-Congress front in the state, CPI, on the other hand, wants to maintain distance from both the Congress and TD so that Left parties' distinct role in the land struggle is not diluted. K Narayana and S Sudhakar Reddy have been voicing moderation whereas B V Raghuvulu and Tammineni Veerabhadram want a show-down with Congress on Bhoo poratam and police firing issue.

Sources say Sudhakar Reddy's comments against Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu stating that the latter had no moral responsibility to participate in the land stir has led to arguments between CPI leaders and CPI-M State secretary B V Raghavulu. It is learnt Raghavulu argued that such a statement would cause damage to the Opposition's fight against the government, as it is the time to carry all the parties along with the Leftists to intensify the agitation. It has created an impression that CPI has fallen into the trap of the Congress, which would take advantage of the situation and run down the Opposition unity.

The CPI leaders are of the view that if the Telugu Desam is allowed to join the land stir, it would hijack the entire movement and would only sideline the Leftists. "The focus of Bhooporatam is lost, if the TD enters the scene because it only gives political colour to the agitation. Why should we give it such an opportunity? Let it fight on its own issues. The land stir should be confined only to the Leftists. If there are other issues, we can join hands with the TD," CPI State secretary Narayana argued.

Fact Sheet: Now, Cong takes up 'Bhoo Akramana!'

Wisdom seems to have dawned upon the Congress party at last. They have realised how much damage the Bhooparatam of the Leftists has done to the Congress party and eroded its electoral base.

Though the party has not come out with any action plan to undo the damage and counter the Opposition strategies, Congress leaders at the district level have been chalking out their plans to regain their hold among the poor. In Adilabad for instance, the Congress leaders launched their own Bhoo Akramana, encouraging the poor people to occupy government lands, as they don't want to give any credit to the left parties. Hundreds of poor from slum areas of Adilabad town and nearby villages occupied government lands on the outskirts of the town; erected signboards in the lands they have occupied reads that these lands allocated by the local Congress MLA C Ramachandra Reddy. The MLA assured the people that the government would regularise all such encroachments in the near future. Surprisingly, the local police or district administration did not intervene in this issue unlike in the past when poor led by left parties occupied government lands.

Though it might give a temporarly mileage to the Congress in the districts, it would create a lot of problems for the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy government, as it has only justified the Lefists' action. Whether he will regularise all such encroached lands is a million dollars question.

Apollo to run mini-hospital at new Hyderabad airport

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is building a greenfield airport in Hyderabad, Thursday selected Apollo Hospitals for setting up a medical centre inside the passenger terminal.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is building a greenfield airport in Hyderabad, Thursday selected Apollo Hospitals for setting up a medical centre inside the passenger terminal.

The 17-bed medical centre will be built in the passenger terminal building (PTB) of the airport in Shamshabad, which is expected to become operational by March 2008.

'We are fully aware of the importance of providing emergency treatment to the passengers as well as the basic medical care for employees working in the airport. We are sure it will live up to our expectations in making the new Hyderabad international airport a truly customer-friendly one,' T. Srinagesh, chief operating officer of GHIAL, said in a statement.

As per the agreement, Apollo Hospitals will set up the medical centre spread over 300 sq meters in Level B of the PTB and first aid kiosks in passenger restricted areas.

'It (Apollo) will provide permanent staffing and dedicated paramedics in this centre. It will have facilities like ultrasound, ECG as well as round-the-clock emergency dental services,' the company added.

GHIAL is a joint venture company promoted by the GMR Group, which has a stake of 63 percent, and Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad with an 11 percent stake.

The Andhra Pradesh government and the Airports Authority of India will have 13 percent stake each in the project.

'The facility will serve as an emergency treatment centre for passengers who may develop medical complications while on travel or in the airport premises.

'It will also serve as an important partner in disaster management during crisis periods such as explosion, fire, earthquake, plane crash etc within the airport premises,' the company added.

In addition to the passengers, the centre will provide medical care to needy airlines and airport staff, and will also act as a centre for conducting pre-flight medical tests for pilots and flight crews.

The agreement also envisages the medical centre to own and operate a minimum of four advanced ambulances, the company added.

Political Talk: PCC Chief KK is enemy No.1!

The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Kesava Rao is enemy number No.1 for congress party in Andhra Pradesh.

We are referring to the Congress party for which KK happens to be the party president. KK has time and again proved to be a major embarrassment to the party by his uncalled for comments and statements. He has now mastered the art of putting his foot firmly in his mouth at regular intervals.

The latest example is the Mudigonda issue. At a time when the party high command was trying to soften the ruffled feathers of the leftist, KK put spoke a in the wheel with his uncalled for and derogatory comments. He accused the leftists of playing casteist politics. He pointed out that the TDP chief and the leaders of the left parties in the state belong to the same community and therefore they are making all kinds of noises. He even went to the extent of accusing the leftists of amassing wealth in the name of Bhooporatam. This has put the reconciliatory efforts of not only the chief minister but also the efforts of the party high command, in serious jeopardy.

KK’s other blunders in the recent past include challenging the TRS chief to resign as MP and contest once again afresh. This revived the sagging fortunes of not only KCR but also managed to galvanize the party into action once again.

KK also publicly commented on YSR saying that he should not have attended the felicitation function of Kasani Gyaneswar. This caused serious embarrassment to the CM. And the list goes on and on.

His term as PCC chief has ended but he is still continuing as the high command is still on the lookout for a suitable person to succeed him.

However on the other hand, the opposition parties are secretly wishing that he would continue in the present post, at least till the next assembly elections.

Environment : Kolleru to get its boundaries

Finally, the Asia's biggest fresh water lake is going to have its original boundaries, nearly half a centure after greedy politicians have breached them.

The lake which lost its pristine purity and environment was revived recently after the State government demolished all the encroachments. Now Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy has ordered that the boundaries for the restored lake be fixed.

Rajasekhara Reddy directed the districts collectors of West Godavari and Krishna districts to take up the work of fixing boundaries of the Kolleru lake sanctuary in detail with survey numbers in December 2007 and complete it by March 2008 end.

According to the G.O.120 of 4.10.1999 around 77,000 acres up to +5 contour were declared as Kollelru Wild Life Sanctuary. The peoples' representatives of the two districts brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that some additional tanks over and above 77,000 acres were demolished during Kolleru lake restoration.

The Chief Minister categorically said that the lands over and above the notified under sanctuary area ie. 77,000 acres should not be touched but at the same time the sanctuary area should be protected in such a way that even in future no one should encroach it.

The Chief Minister agreed to provide either land to land to those private land owners who lost their land in Kolleru or compensation and ordered the District Collectors to send a detailed report after completion of the survey.

Babu creates rift between the CPI and the CPM!

It is a universal fact that the Communists in India have always given priority to land issues and those relating to the poor. When the CPI and the CPM took up the land struggle in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam was sleeping. Now that the land issue has taken a serious turn with the police firing on Communist agitators at Mudigonda in Khammam district, the TD woke up from its slumber and hijacked the issue.

While it is for the voters to decide whether to side with the Left or the Telugu Desam in the elections, the TD's action has resulted in the division of the Communists.

Chandrababu Naidu's comments and his calculated moves have now led to the clear polarisation of these two major Communist parties.

While CPM State secretary BV Raghavulu is clearly siding with the Telugu Desam through his word and deed, CPI senior leader Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy took strong exception to the TD hijacking the land agitation.

The TD wants to create a further divide. So its senior leaders convened a press conference and alleged that Sudhakar Reddy has fallen in the trap of the Congress. They said Sudhakar Reddy is close to Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy.

Though the TD leadership did not say much it is amply clear that the party was speaking of a caste divide. Raghavulu siding with Chandrababu Naidu and Sudhakar Reddy siding with Rajasekhar Reddy. It wants to turn it into K vs R fight. And wants to fish in the troubled waters. So much for Chandrababu Naidu and his astute planning and execution of political ideas.

Congress leader takes cue from Shankardada

Karimnagar: To counter the Telugu Desam Party’s “false propaganda” against the State Government, the Karimnagar City Congress wing has launched a unique and novel protest on the lines of ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai' a la ‘Shankar Dada Zindabad’ to change the attitude of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu.

If the film ‘Shankardada Zindabad’ sends flowers along with a letter to the villains praying god to bring about attitudinal change in them and refrain from violence, Karimnagar City Congress Committee president Akarapu Bhaskar Reddy sent an open letter and a bouquet of flowers to Mr. Chandrababu Naidu by post to stop shedding ‘crocodile tears’ for welfare of the poor and support the Government for their upliftment and all round development of the State.

Hunger strike

Mr. Reddy, along with the local Congress leaders, participated in a daylong hunger strike at Sripada Chowk near the Collectorate on Tuesday as a counter the TDP president’s hunger strike in Hyderabad. District Congress Committee president Santosh Kumar and Karimnagar Mayor D. Shankar visited the hunger strike camp.

Mr. Bhaskar Reddy began hunger strike after offering praying to god to give peace of mind to the TDP leaders and change their attitude of becoming power-mongers. He said that open letters would also be sent to district party leaders.

Buzz: CPI keeps Naidu at bay in land stir!

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu might have thought the land stir launched by the Communists is a blessing in disguise for him and tried to cash in on the differences between them and the Congress.

But he received a rude shock from CPI on Wednesday. The CPI State committee meeting held at Makhdoom Bhavan decided to keep Chandrababu Naidu at bay in its second phase of land struggle. What is more, the party resolved to convince the CPI-M to restrict the land stir only to the Communist parties and not to allow the TD to take advantage of the situation. "Naidu has no moral right to find for the poor. The Basheerbagh firing incident is fresh in the minds of the people and at that time, Naidu did not announce any ex gratia to the families of firing victims. Now, he is shamelessly demanding Rs 10 lakh to the Mudigonda firing victims. He cannot be believed," CPI leaders said.

Surprisingly, the same CPI and CPI-M leaders Narayana and Raghavulu gave a call to all political parties to join hands with them in their Bhoo Poratam. They invited Naidu on to the dais at their fasting programme at Indira Park and allowed him to address the people along side of Communists. They also organised all party meeting on the next day of Mudigonda incident, where the TD was in the limelight.

Perhaps, Narayana might have had soft corner towards Naidu because of the same K-factor, which brought Raghavulu also closer to him. But things changed once the national committee member Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy entered the scene. He advised the CPI leaders not to entertain the TD and allow it to hijack the movement. Hence, the change in stand!

Hyderabad Buzz: Talasani promotes his two sons

Former minister and senior Telugu Desam leader Talasani Srinivas Yadav wants to take advantage of the political situation in Hyderabad. With arch rival Krishna Yadav out of the party fold, Srinivas Yadav has now been focussing on the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections.

He reportedly wants to bring his two sons into politics. After all Srinivas Yadav himself was a small businessman before plunging into politics.

Srinivas Yadav has erected banners and pasted posters at vantage points in Secunderabad during the Lashkar Bonalu festival. The welcome banners and posters has the photographs of Srinivas Yadav and his two sons.

The publicity material was there for just two days. But on the third day the posters and banners went missing. Whatever be the reasons behind the missing of the posters, Srinivas Yadav has achieved one point: to promote his two sons, who are otherwise not known to anyone in twin cities.

Issueless BJP takes up prohibition issue!

The Bharatiya Janata Party in the State is in a miserable situation, as it has no issue to fight against the government and be in the news. The Communist parties have a major issue of land struggle to fight, while the Telugu Desam has plenty of other issues like the Obulapuram mining and also the land struggle. The TRS, too, is going ahead with its consolidation programme in Telangana districts, starting with the Singareni union elections.

But the poor BJP has no programme of action to go into the people. That's why, it has now started reviving the old issue of "Prohibition" in the State. In fact, it was the new part Lok Satta, which wanted to take up Prohibition as a major social issue and make it as an election plank in the 2009 elections. But, it is yet to formulate an action plan on the subject.

The BJP wants to take the advanatage of this delay and is all set to launch the agitation. The BJP leaders are of the view that it would be a major issue in the next elections and so, the party might gain some advantage.

But, has it not become an outdated issue? What does it do, when its opponents question as to why Prohibition is not being implemented in the BJP-ruled States? Does it have any answer?

Andhra Pradesh coming to New York today!

Andhra Pradesh will land in New York today. Don’t be surprised – it’s true – Andhra Pradesh is coming to New York. India’s state carrier Air India has acquired a fleet of state-of-the art aircraft. The airline has decided to name the aircraft after the names of the states in the country.

Andhra Pradesh has bagged the distinction of getting its name for the first aircraft in the fleet. The aircraft will commence its maiden flight today – and it is a non-stop flight to New York from Mumbai.

The credit for this goes the state government. The state government has convinced the civil aviation authorities to name the first aircraft as Andhra Pradesh. And the state government has succeeded in beating tough competition from other states to bag this distinction.

AP is one of the most happening states in the country and has enormous tourist potential. The naming of the aircraft is just one among the many steps being taken by the government to promote tourism.

A shot documentary showcasing the potential of Andhra Pradesh as a tourist destination and the some of the charming tourist spots in the state like places of religious interest, forts, wildlife sanctuaries, the famed handicrafts, rich cuisine etc. will also be shown in the flight.

Mudigonda: IAS lobby takes advantage

The ongoing cold war between the IAS and IPS lobbies to gain upperhand in the administration has once again come to the fore in the Mudigonda incident.

The IAS officers, who are waiting for an opportunity to prove their superiority to the IPS, took advantage of the Mudigonda incident to defame the police. Accordingly, Khammam District Collector Shashibhushan Kumar submitted a report to the State Human Rights Commission, holding the police responsible for the killing of seven innocent people in the firing. The Collector said the police had not made proper and prior alternative arrangements to avert firing in Mudigonda. He said the cops had not assessed first the seriousness of the situation and not taken prior arrangements such as taking water canons and teargas shells to Mudigonda. He even said the police did not provide even drinking water to the agitators, who got injured in the firing.

The Collector's report is in total contrast to the report submitted by the IPS office Lokendra Sarma, who conducted departmental inquiry into the incident. But with the Khammam district judge also submitting a report to the State High Court, more or less similar to the Collector's report, the IAS lobby got the advantage, leaving the IPS officers fretting and fuming.

Fact Sheet: Left stir takes caste colour!

While the Congress high command is trying to buy peace with the Leftists at the Centre in the aftermath of Mudigonda firing incident, the State Congress leaders stepped up their counter attack on the Communist leaders, particularly CPI-M State secretary B V Raghavulu.

And leading the attack was none other than Pradesh Congress Committee president K Kesava Rao. After accusing the Communists of engineering the land struggle only to make money, he went a step ahead on Wednesday and gave a caste colour to the land stir. He accused Raghavulu of suffering from "Kula gajji" (caste itching), as the latter was helping Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu gain political mileage. Raghavulu hails from the same community (Kamma) as that of Naidu. In Khammam district, too, CPI-M leader Tammineni Veerabhadram who is leading the land struggle, also belongs to the same caste. And the Additional SP Ramesh Babu, who abetted the firing incident also is said to be from the same caste. This would have prompted Kesava Rao to attribute casteist motives to Raghavulu.

Though it is an open secret that Raghavulu's affinity towards Chandrababu Naidu only because of this K-factor, the CPI-M State secretary never agrees it. He wondered why Kesava Rao did not think in caste lines, when the CPI-M fought along with the Congress against the Telugu Desam government in the past. Neverthless, Kesava Rao raised a pertinent question, which Raghavulu can never deny.

YSR's hi-speed rail project is just a graphics wonder!

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy has sought Central assistance for the high speed rail project between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam via Vijayawada. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who went through the project, said a firm no. But assured the chief minister that he would look into it at an appropriate time.

What is the reality behind the project conception. According to sources, an official in the chief minister's office just chanced upon a high speed goods rail project while browsing the internet. He simply changed the concept and using graphics, converted it into a passenger train project.

He then put it before the chief minister. Not knowing what went behind the scene, the chief minister put it before the prime minister seeking Central assistance.

Manmohan Singh, a great economist he is, must have known the real story by going through the cooked up project report. So he turned down the proposal. But not to be rude, he simply said he would look in to it at a later date.

So much for official manipulation.

Dal-roti-subzi for dinner, toilet kit Dutt's only luxury

Mumbai: It was a frugal dinner of brinjal subzi, dal, four rotis and some rice for Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on Wednesday after he spent his first night at Barrack No 1 of the Arthur Road Jail.

Dutt, who was brought to the jail on Tuesday evening after being sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, spent his first night in jail like any other inmate — minus fan, bedsheet or pillow.

However, he was provided a blanket for the night, which all prisoners are entitled to, a jail official said.

Lodged in a 90-sq-ft cell in Barrack No.1, Dutt had to wear the regulation prickly jail-provided white shirt and pyjamas. Though he was not permitted to bring in extra clothes like jeans, he was allowed some luxury — he could get in his full toilet kit.

The kit comprised of the actor's favourite London's premium brand Molten Brown toiletries like mouthwash, hair-wash and soap, a jail source revealed. But Dutt, 48, has to share his toilet and bathroom with eight other prisoners.

A chain smoker, Dutt is believed to have been allowed to take in a 10-pack of his favoured brand — Marlboro Lights. He has also carried combs, toothbrush and towels from Mumbai's ITC Grand Central.

"On Wednesday morning, Dutt had a frugal breakfast of sweetened tea and biscuits and a couple of slices of bread at 0730 hours. The regular jail lunch was at 1030 hours and it comprised a subzi, dal, four rotis and some rice. Dutt was served tea at 1500 hours and dinner immediately afterwards at 1530 hours, identical to what he had for lunch," a jail official said.

The actor was initially lodged in Barrack No 10. But he was shifted to No 1 for security reasons in a late-night development on Tuesday. "Sanjay Dutt was shifted to Barrack No 1 from No 10 late Tuesday night, taking his security into account," sources at the Arthur Road Jail said on Wednesday.

Barrack No 10 has high-profile inmates like extradited mobster Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa, both of whom are being tried separately in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings.

Incidentally, Dutt had asked the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Preventive) Act (TADA) judge Pramod Kode not to put him and his two associates, Yusuf Nulwala and Kersi Adajenia, in the infamous 'andda' (egg-shaped) cell of Arthur Road prison.

"The actor spent an uneventful night, while his two friends, Nulwala and Adajenia, were shifted to Barrack No 8," the jail source said.

Barrack No 1 has one big cell with around 30 prisoners and three small cells. Sanjay had one of the small cells. Praveen Mahajan, who is under trial for allegedly killing his brother and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan, is in another. The third houses members of the fugitive mobster Chhota Shakeel's gang — Salim Fruit and Shahid Sheikh.

The Munnabhai star did not taste the jail dinner on Tuesday as the scheduled dinner time was over much before he was brought in. The cell in which Dutt is lodged is near the main door of the jail and is popularly known as the Buddha Barrack, as all aged undertrials were lodged there earlier.

The cell, which till recently housed a Mumbai civic official accused in a real estate deal connected with India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim, was given a fresh coat of paint on Monday.

It has a toilet-cum-bathroom facility outside and a bucket of water is provided twice a day at 0400 hours and 1530 hours, jail sources said.

Dutt is to be in Barrack No 1 till Thursday, after which the authorities will decide where to shift him. Arthur Road Jail is meant for undertrials and has no facilities for rigorous imprisonment, like carpentry or weaving work that convicts have to undertake.

Article: ChandraBabu’s Deeksha flops!

The TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu’s one taken token strike (Deeksha) has shown how fragile his relationship with the leftist really is.

Babu is not only a master manipulator but also quick to seize opportunities. He latched upon the leftists Bhooporatam with both his hand. His strategy is simple. He senses a great opportunity in the stir by Leftists and saw a wining issue for the next assembly polls.

But Chandra Babu’s strategy seems to have backfired. The CPM and CPI leaders are no novices. They have not only worked with Babu closely for more than a decade and they can now also read Babu’s mind.

Even chief minister Y S Rajashekar Reddy made light of Babu’s token Deeksha. He said that Babu sat on a Deeksha after having a sumptuous breakfast and went home for dinner!

The leftists however seized the first opportunity that came their way in the form of Babu’s Deeksha. They conveniently excused themselves from the Deeksha and have now sent a clear message to Babu as well as YSR. The communists will keep their options open and will not align themselves completely with the TDP.

The compulsions of coalition politics and the Left parties bonhomie with the Congress at the center are the factors that are now weighing heavily on the minds of Raghavulu and Narayana.

And at the end of the day, even Babu realized that the people were not convinced about his token hunger strike and he went home quietly.

So the coming days can be expected to be much more interesting, which will once again prove the adage right – that there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies in politics!

Fact Sheet: "Naidu has no moral right in Mudigonda"

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu is trying every method, including the so-called one-day fasting (or a few hours fasting?), to take absolute mileage out of the recent Mudigonda firing incident, in which seven people died.

But the people in Khammam district are not being carried away by his crococodile tears. In fact, Sattenapalli Manda, wife of Ramakrishna, who was shot dead in the Basheerbagh police firing in 2000, categorically said Naidu had no moral right to call on the victims of police firing at Mudigonda.

"Chandrbabu and former minister T Devender Goud termed the deceased of Basheerbagh struggle as traitors of country and he also rejected to give compensation to the families of them," she said. She feels Naidu should tender apology to the Basheeragh firing victims at least one.

Yet, Naidu shamelessly demanded the resignation of YSR in connection with the Mudigonda incident. And he is day dreaming of coing back to power and saying that land distribution would be the top prioitity, if the TD comes to power (sic!)

Don't lose faith in yourself, judge tells Sanjay Dutt

"Act till the age of 100, I have only taken away six years," Judge Kode of the special TADA court told Dutt hours after sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for six years for illegal possession of weapons..

Rejecting actor Sanjay Dutt's emotional plea for time to surrender after he was today given a six-year jail term in the 1993 serial blasts case, Judge P D Kode told the star not to lose faith in himself as he was "number one" in films.

"Act till the age of 100, I have only taken away six years," Judge Kode of the special TADA court told Dutt hours after sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for six years for illegal possession of weapons.

Noting that Dutt was "number 1 in the film line", Kode said that he had liked the actor's performances very much and advised him to have faith in himself.

Kode's comments came while he was hearing Dutt's plea for more time to surrender. After hearing his sentence earlier in the day, Dutt went to the witness box with folded hands and sought permission to speak in the court.

"Sir, I made a mistake 14 years ago. Please give me some time to surrender," said the actor who turned 48 on Sunday.

When the court took up the plea later, Dutt told the judge: "I am very tired, sir. I just need your blessings."

"Don't get perturbed for you have many years to go and work like the 'Mackenna's Gold' actor, Gregory Peck," Kode told the star in an informal conversation that lasted almost 10 minutes.

In an apparent attempt to cheer Dutt, Kode told him that he had seen the actor's performance with his late father Sunil Dutt in "Munnabhai MBBS". "In the film, your father looked much better than you," the judge said.

Dutt conducted himself in a restrained manner throughout the proceedings. His face looked gaunt, revealing that he must have had a sleepless night, but he did not break down.

FM visualises investment boom in Andhra Pradesh

Visualising an ''investment boom'' in Andhra Pradesh when the ten ongoing infrastructural projects worth more than Rs 40,000 crore are completed, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the Centre would replicate the review exercise, undertaken in Andhra Pradesh, in various state capitals.

Briefing newspersons after a review of the projects by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Chief Minister Y S Rajasekara Reddy, he expressed satisfaction over the progress of major projects.

Terming as ''fruitful'' the exercise of the Prime Minister himself coming down to a state capital and reviewing developmental activities for the whole day, Mr Chidambaram said such a review would be made in all states for focussed development.

The State Government made a detailed presentation of the projects in various sectors, including energy, urban development, land management and health, the Finance Minister said, promising to follow up pending project proposals with various Union Ministries.

The projects reviewed included the 4,000 MW Krishnapatnam power project, 520 MW Ramagundam power plant, Hindustan Petrochemicals Limited refinery project in Visakhapatnam, Grassroots refinery in Kakinada, Special Economic Zone in Kakinada, Petrochemicals and Refineries project in Visakhapatnam, expansion of the Vishakapatnam port, Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) for Hyderbad, Outer Ring Road and Express Highway to the new international airport in Hyderabad, he added.

When Desam MPs spied over one another

Those who have been observing the Telugu Desam politics for quite a long time can confidently say one thing: that former Chief Minister and TD president N Chandrababu Naidu doesn't believe his own shadow, leave alone his party leaders. The recent Presidential elections once again proved this point.

Though Naidu had announced that the TD was boycotting the Presidential elections, he was not confident about his own party MPs and MLAs. When the polling was taking place, three Desam MPs – K Yerran Naidu, Manda Jagannatham and Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy – were inside Parliament and this raised many an eye brow in the media circles. In fact, Yerran Naidu had plans to exercise his franchise in favour of Pratibha Patil, after Sonia Gandhi personally requested him. But he backed out at the last moment on realising that the TD president came to know about his plans.

So, on the polling day, Yerran Naidu came to know that Jagannatham had gone to the polling hall and he, too, rushed there but could not find him. But he was spotted by Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy and without uttering a word, Yerran Naidu returned. As he was returning, Jagannatham was entering the polling area. Yerran Naidu asked him what he was doing there, but Jagannatham replied that he was coming from the bank located in the Parliament premises. Both went back to their respective chambers.

The matter of the fact was that Chandrababu Naidu deputed Ravula to spy on Jagannatham, while Jagannatham was asked to keep any eye on Yerran Naidu. And nobody knew about it!!

Political: AP’s inter-regional gaps worry PM

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today expressed concern over the large inter-regional gaps in agricultural productivity and the high-level review meeting he chaired adopted an ‘Andhra Pradesh Resolution’ to give agriculture a four per cent growth.

This is the first time that a Prime Minister reviewed state subjects in a state capital. Over the next few weeks he would visit Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar. The resolution focussed on launching the National Food Security Mission in AP, increase expenditure in agriculture, improve post-harvest management infrastructure and accord highest priority to seed production.

“There are large inter-regional gaps in yield and productivity. South Telangana is the most backward with a high yield gap. There is a need to bridge this gap. Similarly, north coastal Andhra, which has a relatively high rainfall, has low yields in rice and sugarcane. The comparison with the delta area is quite stark. North Telangana exhibits poor performance in cotton and jowar,” Dr Singh said.

Dr Singh lauded the state government for its emphasis on irrigation projects. Despite this 40 per cent of the state would continue to be rain fed and this should not be ignored, he said.

Meanwhile, chief minister Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy sought Rs 3,260 cr of Central assistance for agriculture. In addition, he sought a Central assistance of Rs 1,280 crore per annum and Rs 6,000 crore during the XI Plan period. Dr Reddy presented a state agriculture plan detailing individual district plans to underscore his point. The resolution said it would post for World Bank approval the public-private partnership initiatives in terminal marketing complexes at Hyderabad, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam in September 2007 and achieve financial closure by March 2008.

Behind The Scene : Lok Satta leaders frustrated!

Even as the political activity is hotting up in the State with Opposition parties intensifying their tirade against the Rajasekhara Reddy government, one party which remained cold is Lok Satta, which has no programme or plan to realise its day-dream of getting into power in 2009 elections.

So much so that the leaders and cadres of Lok Satta, who joined the new party with a lot of hope and commitment, are getting frustrated day by day. At a time when all the political parties are buzzing with activity with one programme or the other, the atmosphere is dull and uninspiring in Lok Satta. There are no hunger strikes, no dharnas, no rallies and no bandhs. They are wondering how its founder Jayaprakash Narayana is hoping to get the people's support without fighting for their problems.

Secondly, there is no coherence in what this so-called intellectual is saying. One day, he says the Chief Minister should take moral responsibility for the police firing at Mudigonda in which seven people died. The very next day, he opposed the demand of the Left paties that the Chief Minister should step down. He has not provided any valid solution for the ongoing land struggle.

While this deep thinking has been going on in Lok Satta, there has been a fight among the leaders of Lok Satta for crucial posts in the party. The Lok Satta leaders in Tirupati for instance went to the extent of entering into fisticuffs on the issue of gaining positions in the party. So, what's the difference betwen Lok Satta and other parties?

Leftists forced the firing victims to die

The post-firing incidents at Mudigonda village kicked up several doubts over the intentions of the Communist leaders: whether they are really fighting for securing land for the poor people, or get political mileage out of it.

The way the Communist leaders behaved after the firing incident at the village showed their inhuman attitude and utter regard towards the plight of the victims. Eyewitnesses say that the death toll would have been minimal had the injured were shifted to the hospital immediately rather than to the Collectorate for agitation. A local surgeon, who saw the clippings in the television news, observed that the victims did not succumb to bullet injuries instantaneously, but were battling for death for some time. Had the bodies been in the hospital rather than on the road, the persons would have been saved. "I feel that a few of the six dead were not clinically dead at the spot due to the bullet injuries. They died because there was no treatment for several hours," he felt.

Locals wonder how could the CPI-M leaders come to the conclusion that those who received bullet injuries died, since it was for the doctors to confirm whether the injured were dead or alive. Then a post-mortem is to be conducted following which the bodies could be handed over to the relatives. This process was not followed and the fate of the injured was left to the angry CPM activists, who took them to the Collectorate rather than the hospital. The agitators, who are making hue and cry today about the death of the six persons did not make any attempt to shift the injured to the hospital and save their lives. In stead, they mishandled the injured and tried to gain political mileage, they observed.

YSR's dream: hi speed rail corridor

The Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy will seek Viability Gap Funding from the Prime Minister and the Central team for the Inter-City High Speed Rail Corridor between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad via Dornkal connecting Vijayawada, Chennai and Bangalore. This will be connected to the already proposed high speed rail corridor of Mumbai-Delhi. This will integrate emerging cities in Deccan and Southern parts of India into one large metro grid to enhance social, leisure, tourism, infrastructure, and business connectivity.

This will use the potential high-speed passenger traffic as a productivity fillip for new niche markets on the corridors and nodes and will de-congest intra-city and encourage inter-city business opportunities. The State Government will plead that the project must be taken up by the Indian Railways on a PPP/SPV Model with direct Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from the Centre. This high speed rail corridor will facilitate the common people to go to any of these cities in the morning and come back in the evening.

The Chief Minister will seek a total assistance of about Rs. 8800 crore for the revenue, energy, urban development, industries, road transport, panchayat raj and railway sectors. He will also seek Rs.1550 crore for Bhu Bharathi since it is the endeavour to provide a firm and conclusive title deed to each one of these 3.47 crore premise owners. It involves resurvey operations using space technology for aerial photography, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) imposed upon digitised cadastral maps. The concept is proven and is being successfully implemented as a pilot project in Nizamabad.

The Chief Minister will also raise the gas supply issue and explain that the existing gas based power projects (1276 MW) are operating only at 50% due to non supply of gas and the new gas based power projects (1500 mw) completely lying idle.

GAIL have not honoured the commitment to supply adequate gas. As a result, GoAP have to bear additional financial burden of around Rs.4000 crore to procure expensive power. Production sharing contract under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) has a provision to opt for Profit Petroleum in kind. This option is to be exercised for supply in kin from K-G Basin to these stranded assets.

Government of India will be requested to ensure supply of Profit Petroleum in kind to gas based power projects in A.P. As far as Pricing Policy is concerned, the State Government will explain that in the absence of a competitive Market in a Monopoly Situation, "Market Price Discovery" is not possible. Production Sharing Contract under NELP provides for pricing methodology to be referred to an independent Regulatory Authority. The Chief Minister have already addressed GoI on the need to establish a Regulatory Authority in the current market context. Expert Committee of Planning Commission has also endorsed the same.

The State Government will request GoI to set up an independent Market Regulator to scrutinize apex and for methodology for pricing of Natural Gas. Tariff Commission has recommended lower tariffs to be charged by GAIL to implement these recommendations.

Tariff Commission have recommended lower tariffs for gas to be charged by GAIL. Tariff Commission also directed excess charges of Rs.606 crores recovered between 1997 and 2006 are to be returned. PMO referred the matter to the Planning Commission. They have confirmed Tariff Commission recommendations.

A.P. Government's sponsored company to develop pipeline infrastructure on 'common-carrier' basis. The State Government will request the GoI to accord approval for Krishna-Godavari Gas Network Limited (KGGNL), a Public Private Partnership, to lay gas pipelines in the State.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural GAs (MoPNG) is insisting on a binding gas supply contract. Risk in laying pipeline is to be entirely borne by Krishna-Godavari Gas Network Limited (KGGNL). Any further delay in laying of gas pipeline will hamper gas requirements of all regions of state. The GoAP will also seek to allocate a part of the Centre's profit gas from KG basin to AP for Krishna-Godavari Gas Network Limited (KGGNL), a common carrier.

The Chief Minister will also seek Central assistance for Hyderabad Outer Ring Road Project, Hyderabad Metro Rail Project (MRTS), development of Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) Project, bypassing NH 7&9 through Hyderabad city.

The Chief Minister will also seek central assistance for the refinery project by ONGC at Kakinada and a Petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) in Visakhapatnam.

The Chief Minister will also explain that there is a necessity for urgent upgradation of 17 important State roads into National Highways. Upgradation proposals covering a length of 4950 kms were already submitted to the MOSRT&H. He will also seek assistance for major bridge over Rayapatnam, Nizamabad-Jagadalpur of NH-16, another major bridge across river Godavari and re-alignment of NH-202 from Eturnagaram to A.P.State Border. He will seek central funds for construction of roads in the extremist-affected areas and construction of rural roads under PMGSY.

Spotlight: Union mantris from state ‘desert’ YSR

While the state government and the state Congress are struggling to wriggle out of the fallout of the police firing and resultant six deaths in Mudigonda, all the central ministers from the state, save expression of sympathy for the victims by Renuka Chowdhury and S Jaipal Reddy, have maintained a stony silence on the entire episode.

No statement either condemning the police firing or supporting chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, has been issued by the AP ministers in the Union council of ministers.

There are six ministers from the state in the Union council of ministers. Of these, Jaipal Reddy is the lone cabinet minister while the rest, Dasari Narayana Rao, Jairam Ramesh, Renuka Chowdhury, Panabaka Lakshmi and Purandeswari are ministers of state.

None of the other senior leaders at the Centre including G Venkataswamy, deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha and N Janardhan Reddy, former chief minister, spoke on the issue. Rayapati Sabasivarao simply issued a statement condemning the attempt by the opposition parties to change the YSR government in the state.

In fact, several leaders were reluctant to broach the subject and defend the chief minister openly on the issue.

“I am a small person in the party. Small people are not supposed to comment on big issues like firing and its legitimacy. Kindly do not press for a reaction from me,” said a Union minister who sought anonymity.

In fact, Dasari Narayana Rao was very much in town, but preferred not to comment on the incident. So was the case with Purandeswari and Panabaka Lakshmi, both of them making themselves unavailable for comment.

Analysts say this clearly shows the lack of solidarity and the sorry state of affairs in the Congress party.

The reason for this silence, party observers comment, being in case Rajasekhara Reddy has to be replaced, they could be aspirants for that post.

Buzz: Media was informed in advance?

The presence of media in large numbers, particularly channels like ETV and TV9 is raising suspicion that they knew some big development that was likely to happen at Mudigonda.

Mudigonda is a small mandal headquarter, one among thousands of mandals in the state. So how come the channels were present in advance before the incident took place. The place is also far off from Hyderabad, over 250 kms to be precise.

Even Vijayawada is a good two hours journey from Mudigonda. Therefore it is not possible for them to say that they rushed the team immediately. No channel has the wherewithal and equipment to cover each and every mandal let lone a district.

So it obvious that the incident was a pre-planned one and it was done with the intention of embarrassing the Y S Rajashekar Reddy government.

Why is Narayana opposed to YSR's ouster?

Once again, Communist Party of India State secretary K Narayana has displayed his unflinching loyalty to Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, at a time when all the other Opposition parties, including the CPI-M, were gunning for YSR's head.

It surprised many a political observer as to why Narayana did not agree with the demand of the Opposition parties that YSR should step down as the Chief Minister. Surprising, because Narayana has been actively participating in the "Bhoo Poratam" launched by the CPI-M these days and is even facing a "Sedition case" from the government. Why then did he differ in seeking the ouster of YSR?

Makhdoom Bhavan sources point out that Narayana has never been opposing YSR, as he is the biggest beneficiary of the Chief Minister's offerings. Right from the beginning, Narayana has been displaying pro-YSR stand, whether it is Pothireddypadu, Polavaram or Raghuram Cements issue. In this regard, even his own party leaders are opposing his attitude. His so-called participation in the agitations against the govenment are only superficial. In a way, he has been acting as a "covert" in the whole land struggle operation, as he is said to be the one who has given the hint to the government to disturb the fast-unto-death by the Reds. So, naturally, Narayana has that gratitude!

Buzz: PM satisfied with YSR's explanation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday reviewed the law and order situation in the State in the wake of police firing in Mudigonda in Khammam district where six people died when the Left parties sponsored Bhooporatam turned violent.

Immediately on arrival by a special plane from Delhi late at night, Dr Singh drove to Raj Bhavan and discussed the issue with Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, Home Minister K. Jana Reddy, chief secretary J. Harinarayan, director general of police M. A. Basith and other senior police and civil officials.

Sources told this correspondent that the Prime Minister patiently heard the Chief Minister who explained to him the struggle for land launched by Left parties and their attempts to grab government, wakf, temple, assigned, tank bed and other lands. “The Prime Minister was apparently satisfied with the explanation given by Chief Minister,” the source disclosed. Activists of the Left parties tried to grab lands in 1400 places and their attempts were thwarted by local police, the Chief Minister told the Prime Minister.

Ministers attack the Left, but YSR goes soft

The Congress leaders, particularly the ministers in the Rajasekhar Reddy cabinet, who did not dare to talk about the Mudigonda firing incident fearing repraisal from the people, started raising their voice after a couple of days.

Minister for Health Sambhani Chandrasekhar, who hails from Khammam district, was scared of going to the district on Saturday. He picked up courage and went to Khammam only on Monday and attacked the Communists, holding them responsible for the firing incident. Roads and Buildings Minister T Jeevan Reddy, Transport Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, Marketing Minister Botsa Satyanarayana and others came down heavily on the Communists and the Telugu Desam leaders for trying to politicise the Bhooporatam issue. They even demanded that the government would have to file "attempt to murder case" against the Communist leaders for causing the firing.

Surprisingly, the Chief Minister has decided to go soft on the Reds. In a television programme on Sunday night, he said the cause for which the Communists had been fighting is the same for which the government is striving to achieve. "The Communists are our friends and they are giving support to our government at the Centre. We have a common principle of upholding the secularism. They have every right to fight for the land issue; and as a ruling party, we have every right to explain our programme in this regard," he said.

Apparently, YSR must have got an advice from the high command not to make any damaging statements against the Left, since there is every possibility of the Left theatening to withdraw support to the UPA government, if things precipitate. Hence, the change in CM's stand!!

High command rejects demand for Reddy's resignation

With several parties, including Left and the BJP, clamouring for the blood of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, the Congress today started singing the tune of healing touch and rejected demands for Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's resignation in the wake of the Khammam police firing.

"We do not see that it is an occasion to ask for the resignation (of Chief Minister) when constructive, concrete and serious action is being taken," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.

Singhvi said it is "unfair to link unlinkables and connect the unconnectables" when told that Reddy has been in a series of controversies of late and that regional parties like TDP and TRS have also trained guns at the Chief Minister.

His comments came close on the heels of both CPI(M) and BJP's demands for Reddy's resignation and the Left party's decision to step up its agitation seeking distribution of land to the poor in the state.

Singhvi insisted that the Chief Minister has taken a number of steps to address the problem and has even announced a judicial inquiry into the police firing that claimed six lives in Mudigonda in Khammam district on Saturday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier in the day spoke to Reddy and expressed regret at the "unfortunate incident" and reiterated the government's commitment to redistribute surplus land and fulfil its stated commitments to the landless.

At the same time, Singhvi sidestepped questions whether the party high command was satisfied with the performance of the Chief Minister.

Party sources feel any action against the Chief Minister at this point of time could prove counter-productive for the organisation.

Curtain-raiser: YSR's wishlist for PM's visit

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh who will be arriving in Hyderabad tonight for a whole day's working visit tomorrow on State-specific projects will review the achievement, plan and demands of various vital departments like Agriculture, Irrigation, Cooperatives, T R&B, Revenue, MA&UD etc. in two separate sessions.

The Chief Minister will utilise the opportunity to seek not only additional State-specific Central Assistance for Agriculture, Irrigation, infrastructure etc, but also to show-case achievement of Andhra Pradesh in Irrigation and various other sectors.

This is the first time that a Prime Minister visiting a State and spending a whole day discussing in depth all the specific issues and developmental issues. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Union Agriculture Minister Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Finance Minister Mr Chidambaram, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Secretaries of the Union Ministries concerned and top Central Officials. Dr. Singh will have a high-level discussion with the Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Ministers concerned, Advisers to the State Government, Chief Secretary and other top officials of the State Government.

First session of the Prime Minister's review meeting will start at 10.00 am at Jubilee Hall, will continue up to 1.00 p.m. The forenoon session will review Food Security, Agriculture Plan, Agriculture Extension, Cooperatives and Irrigation. The session will start with brief introductory speeches by the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and close with their concluding remarks. There will be a lunch break for two hours and the Chief Minister will host a lunch for the Prime Minister and the Central Team.

The Afternoon session will start at 3.00 p.m. and will continue up to 5.45 p.m. In this session the Prime Minister and team will review State-specific projects of Revenue, Energy, Infrastructure, OR Project, Urban Development, Industries, Road Transport, Panchayat Raj and Railways.

Government of India has selected Andhra Pradesh since the Prime Minister felt it is the most happening State and it is from here that he wants the country to take a kick off for fast development and boost agricultural production. He was particularly concerned about the food security and rice production in particular and Andhra Pradesh is the State which has the capability to take off, thanks to the massive irrigation facilities it has created and copious rains it has received consecutively for the last four years.

The Chief Minister held a special meeting to finalise the presentations and issues to be brought before the Prime Minister and the Central team.

The Chief Minister will take up irrigation as top priority to seek maximum assistance under the Special package, many proposed projects under AIBP and DPAP schemes. He will also explain to the Prime Minister the 12 lakh ayacut for which irrigation facilities are created under the Jalayagnam programme, show him the villages and projects through the help of a map, the areas to be covered under the numerous projects which are in full swing.

The Chief Minister will present before the Prime Minister a unique State Agricultural Plan integrating all the district plans ensuring baseline share of agriculture in its total state plan expenditure to get the new Additional Central Assistance. The State government is making all efforts to complete all projects under the AIBP. The State Government will also highlight the Seed Plan involving all institutions both private and public.

The Chief Minister will explain the major strategies for improving crop sector like stabilising the cropped area, bridging the yield gap, diversification, research support, improving credit delivery, rural infrastructure etc. In the agriculture sector, the State govt. will seek Central Assistance of Rs. 3258 crore. The State Govt. will also seek additional Central Assistance to the tune of Rs.1280.69 crore per annum and a total of Rs.5997.95 crore during the XI plan period for agriculture and allied sectors.

The State Government will undertake major expansion and revamping of State Agricultural Extension Systems. The State will also seek assistance to implement the Vaidyanathan Committee Report. The Chief Minister will explain to the Prime Minister development of modern markets and encouraging linkages by using cooperatives and contract farming etc.

The State will also present before the Prime Minister the State strategy for increasing Rice production and productivity and bringing in additional area under cultivation with the help of the massive irrigation systems being created. The State is also going for intensification --interventions at the farming level based on yield gap between the potential and the actual. Tools will be employed for introducing appropriate mechanical devices, critical inputs, compulsory green manuring etc. Special focus will be given on districts like North Coastal Andhra, where the gap is the highest with special attention to water management and drainage.

State strategy for increasing pulse production includes compulsory mixed-cropping with groundnut, maize, jowar; promoting deep-tillage practices through custom hiring centres, expanding in non-traditional areas (rice fallows, new command areas etc.) and promoting critical inputs like use of quality seeds.

The Prime Minister will be asked to clear the Indira Sagar (Polavaram) Indira Sagar Lift Irrigation, Rajiv Sagar (Dummugudem) Lift Irrigation scheme, Sripadasagar (Yellampally Barrage), Bhupatipalem, Komaram, Masurumilli, Peddavagu (Neelwai), Modikunta Vagu, Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme (MGLI), Nettampadu Lift Irrigation (Jawahar LIS), projects in principle pending final clearance. He would also seek central assistance for construction of 2573.86 kms roads in the remote areas covering 18 districts costing Rs. 565.83 crores. The State will seek enhancement of refinance of NABARD from existing 40 to 75%.