Babu dilutes land debate much to the chagrin of Left

Former chief minister and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu, who has changed his decision to boycott the Assembly proceedings on the suggestion of the Left parties, on Thursday diluted the debate on the all-important land distribution. The two Communist parties have been agitating alleging that the government had failed to do justice to the poor and the rich were being benefited from the land distribution and Indiramma scheme.

The Left requested Chandrababu Naidu to extend them moral support in the State Assembly. Chandrababu Naidu agreed to the request but unwittingly created problems for them. When the House was debating the issue rather seriously, Chandrababu Naidu included in his speech several items which are not related to the debate. Even Speaker KR Suresh Reddy said Chandrababu Naidu was deviating from the given subject.

According to sources, the Left parties are not happy with the dilution of the important topic by including political allegations and anecdotes to settle scores with the ruling party. The Communists did not expect this from the Leader of the Opposition. The disgust was clearly writ on the faces of the Communist leaders.

Kalam's new website to be launched today!

CHENNAI: Fans of APJ Abdul Kalam need not lose heart that he will no longer be available on www.presidentofindia.nic.in.

The tech savvy missile man who moved out of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday will continue to chat with millions of students and admirers on www.abdulkalam.com, a portal that will be launched on Thursday in Chennai.

“The new site will be as interactive as the President's official website. Browsers can continue to chat with Kalam, send him e-mails, share their thoughts for Vision 2020 with him,” a source said.

During his five year term as President, Kalam had ensured that all his speeches and interaction were posted online. “All that content including his poems will be shifted to www.abdulkalam.com now,” the source added.

On Wednesday night, the official website of the President of India was put under renovation to enable the content transfer.

Fact Sheet: Naidu kneels down before Left!

Fresh from the publicity he got from the Obulapuram Mines incident, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has announced that the TD would actively participate in the Bhoo Poratam launched by the CPI and CPI-M to intensify its attack on the Y S Rajasekhar Reddy government.

Naidu, who desperately needs the support of the Left parties to stage a comeback in the 2009 general elections, is prepared to do anything to please the Reds. Just like the Congress which got benefitted from the Left support in 2004 elections, the TD too wants to gain maximum mileage from the agitations of the Left parties.

That Naidu personally went to the dharna chowk at Indira Park to participate in the indefinite fast launched by the Communists clearly shows how much he can bend head over heels to woo the Left. He wants that the land struggle launched by the Communists would now be extended to all other parties all over the country. His interaction with CPI-M national leader Prakash Karat gave enough hint that the TD would soon seek the support of the Left to the TD in the State and the Third Front at the Centre.

Interestingly, even Bharatiya Janata Party has started participating in the land struggles of the Left. In several Telangana districts, the BJP cadres joined the Leftists in occupying lands, saying that the ongoing agitation for lands by the poor as a justified demand.

Desam helps TRS in fighting rebels

Believe it or not, it is the Telugu Desam Party which is indirectly helping the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to fight its rebel MLAs Duggyala Srinivasa Rao and Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy, who have become thorn in the flesh for TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao.

True to the Telugu adage: "Kaagala Karyam Gandharvule Teerchinattu," the TRS leaders in Warangal district are immensely happy with the Telugu Desam leaders lodging a complaint with the R&B department, alleging that Dugyala Srinivasa Rao committed irregularities in the road works in the distict, causing a loss of several lakhs of rupees to the government, for which he was "blacklisted" by the government. They also demanded that the government initiate a judicial inquiry or vigilance inquiry into the corruption allegations against the TRS dissident MLA. They also alleged that Duggyala extorting commissions in every work being carried out in his constituency and was blackmailing all those who are opposing his policies.

On another dissident TRS MLA Mandadi Satyanarayana Reddy, the TDP alleged that the veteran politician's name was all too familiar in the urban housing scam in the city. The TD leaders said the region's people had made up their mind to teach the dissident TRS MLAs a lesson in the next elections.

So, the TRS is sitting pretty, with the TD doing all the job of exposing the TRS dissidents!!

How could Kutuhalamma get Dy Speaker post?

Guess, who was responsible for G Kutuhalamma getting the Deputy Speaker post? Nay, not Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, but it was Koduru MLA Prabhavatamma.

This secret was revealed by former minister M Satyanarayana Rao in the Assembly on Wednesday. He said the seat adjacent to Prabhavatamma in the Assembly is a very lucky seat and whoever sits in that would get one position or the other. Earlier, Galla Aruna used to sit beside Prabhavatamma and she was lucky enough to become the Cabinet minister. After Aruna moved into the front benches, Kutuhalamma occupied her seat and thanks to her proximity to Prabhavatamma, she was blessed with the Deputy Speaker post within three months.

Now, Satyanarayana Rao expressed desire to sit beside Prabhavatamma and who knows, he might get the chance to become the minister once again at a later stage? If not minister, will he become the Governor of any State?

No politicians, media at Lokesh wedding!

Former chief minister and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu does not want any politicians or mediapersons at the wedding of his only son Nara Lokesh on August 26. The venue selected is the sprawling Hitex but Chandrababu Naidu wants only a few people to attend the wedding ceremony. According to Telugu Desam sources, Chandrababu Naidu has decided to limit his guest list toabout 70 to 80 people and none of them is from the media or politics. No Telugu Desam leader will grace the occasion since Babu wants it to be purely a private affair.

If there will be any guests, they will be from the bride's side. And sources point out, there will be hundreds of them from the film industry.

It seems Chandrababu Naidu wants to present himself as the "simplest politician" in the country. So he has limited his guest list for the wedding, as he did earlier for the engagement ceremony.

How Can Gali Call Chandrababu Like This?

It is really demeaning to the society. A responsible industrialist slipped his tongue in nasty way. The former CM of AP and the present Opposition Party Leader is insulted with that dirty word ('A KOJJA') out of rage by Gali Janardana Reddy, the head of Mining Company at Obulapuram. How can he use that dirty word? He also said that the day will come when people throw stones on Chandrababu.
"Chandrababu! Nuvvu Magadivaithey, Nee Raktamlo neethi unte Hyderabad lo naa intipai raallu veyisthaava? Nuvvoka Durmargudivi, Chetakaani vaadivi, kojjaavi..", said Gali.
It's really demeaning. Can Chandrababu allow his business run smoothly when he comes to power if Gali shouts like this? Well, who knows there will be no permanent enemies in politics! Gali may buy Chandrababu if he comes to power.
Talking on this mining issue, "It's Paritala Ravi who preyed on the mines of that area when Chandrababu was in power. Now it's the time of Gali to prey on that. TDP is with insecurity that the Congress would go financially powerful with this mining business. So to curb that, TDP is sitting on that issue. Another aspect to be observed is that TDP has been silent from the last 3 years on this issue and suddenly woke up as there is no other issue to tickle the ruling party", said a lecturer who teaches political science in college of Hyderabad.

Opinion: Ramoji Rao Agreed He Is Licking TDP

Ramoji Rao agreed that he is the pamphlet of TDP in his editorial today. Shamelessly, he said that he called on people to vote for TDP in 1983 elections. How can a responsible News Paper (as he claims) boast this disgracefully? He also gave several covering inferno statements to support his act. He says that he was worried looking at the ill affects of monopoly of Congress in the state for about 30 years. He also said that he took the responsibility of standing as an opposition to Congress and encouraged TDP.
He recalled that he also wrote many things against TDP as well during its rule keeping the people's interest in view point. But how he earned the land for Ramoji Film City? Is that not by putting TDP on shoulders? The number-1 selfish old man, Ramoji Rao speaks about ethics in journalism which is a shame on his part.
Everybody does mistake. Standing with guilt looks mightier than the act of supporting it.
(Letter posted by greatandhra.com reader K. Raghunandan, New Jersey)

YSR gets 'Seema Simham' image!

Notwithstanding the hullabaloo created by the Telugu Desam members and the vilification campaign run by the media, there was an overwhelming support from not only the Congress leaders but also from other sections in Rayalaseema, to Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy for coming down heavily on Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu in the Assembly on Monday.

In fact, YSR is now being described as "Seema Simham" by the Congress leaders from Kadapa and Anantapur districts. For the last two days, the high drama enacted by the Desam MLAs at Obulapuram mines, making all sorts of wild allegations against the Chief Minister and his family, were irritating these Rayalaseema Congress leaders. They were surprised as to why the Chief Minister remained silent when the TD MLAs were creating a nuisance at Obulapuram. In a way, these leaders were feeling that YSR's silence was not in tune with his Rayalaseema image.
But, when the Chief Minister took Naidu to task in the Assembly, threatening to make the latter regret for having born to his mother, his image graph has suddenly gone up and there were wide spread accolades for him in Rayalaseema, though some Congress leaders from Andhra like Finance Minister K Rosaiah felt that YSR should not have used such harsh words. And YSR proved himself a dignified leader by tendering an unconditional apology to Naidu on Tuesday, with a rider that if at all the latter felt there was any reference to his mother.

Fact Sheet: Dayakar becomes TD leaders' envy

Wardhannapet MLA and Telugu Desam whip in the Assembly Errabelli Dayakar Rao has become a hero in the party overnight, thanks to his overaction at the Obulapuram mines in Anantapur, where the Desam MLAs tried to tresspass into the mining area.
Though it was Dayakar Rao who dealt blows on the police personnel, the media tried to project as if he was manhandled by the police and that he fainted in the melee. The entire media focus was, thus, on Dayakar Rao and the next day, he put up a big show by shaving his beard and taking bath in front of the police station. Naturally, Dayakar Rao's image has gone up steeply in the party and Naidu had a word of praise for his daring acts.
This has created an envy among the other TD leaders towards Dayakar Rao. Particularly, his rival in Warangal district, Kadiam Srihari, has not taken kindly the kind of importance being given to Dayakar. In fact, when Srihari was the minister in Chandrababu Naidu cabinet, Dayakar Rao used to grumble everyday for being denied the berth in the Cabinet. In 2004 elections, Dayakar Rao won his seat, while Srihari lost the polls. Since then, Dayakar's role in the party has been increasing and Srihari has been relegated to back seat. With the Obulapuram incident, Srihari is forced to play a second fiddle to Dayakar, organising dharnas and rallies in support of the latter in Warangal district. That's Desam politics!!

Babu does an NTR in House boycott

Former Chief Minister and Opposition Leader in the Assembly N Chandrababu Naidu tries to imitate every trick of his father-in-law N T Rama Rao to be in the news and get the publicity.
On Tuesday, Naidu adopted the same trick NTR followed when he was the Opposition leader between 1989 and 1994 – of boycotting the Assembly proceedings. Naidu announced that he would be boycotting the Assembly proceedings for the next and last three days of the monsoon session in protest against the pungent remarks made by Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy against him. He is trying to create an impression that he was deeply hurt by YSR's comments, personally denigrating him and his mother. Obviously, Naidu did not want to face the uncomfortable situation, if there is a debate in the Assembly on Obulapuram issue, as it would thoroughly expose his role in granting the mining lease. Hence, he decided to avoid the proceedings of the Assembly and at the same, be in the news.
When NTR was the Opposition leader, he, too, boycotted the Assembly proceedings in protest against the ill-treatment meted out to him by the then Vijayabhaskara Reddy government. Then, the entire show in the Assembly was handled by Chandrababu Naidu, who behaved as de facto Opposition leader. Now that Naidu himself chose to stay away from the proceedings, who would play his earlier role? Perhaps, Devender Goud might take the mantle.

DS lunch for Hyderabad bros: What's cooking?

Gandhi Bhavan was agog with rumours on Tuesday about possible outbreak of a full scale dissidence activity against Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, under a Telangana leadership.
The cause for the rumours was hosting of lunch by former Pradesh Congress Committee president and Minister for Higher Education D Srinivas exclusively for Hyderabad Brothers – Khairtabad MLA P Janardhan Reddy and Sanathnagar MLA Marri Shashidhar Reddy at his Banjara Hills residence. The so-called "luncheon meeting" lasted more than two hours and nobody knew what transpired between Srinivas and the Hyderabad brothers at the meeting. "Lunch ku pilichindu, vacchinam; antey," was the cryptic reply given by PJR to the waiting mediapersons.
Normally, PJR is outspoken and doesn't hide anything before the media. But this time, he remained tightlipped. So were Srinivas and Shashidhar Reddy. This had given rise to speculations about a possible dissidence activity in the Congress, in the wake of recent developments. There was also a speculation that the Chief Minister himself had asked Srinivas to cool down PJR and Shashidhar and buy peace with him (YSR). Anyway, the luncheon conclave was the talk of the town on Tuesday, providing a lot of fodder for mediapersons.

Fact Sheet: PJR scared of his own gunmen!

Khairatabad MLA P Janardhan Reddy may have the guts to challenge even Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, but he is scared of his own gunmen.

After the recent unsavoury Jubilee Hills incident, in which PJR's son Vishnuvardhan Reddy allegedly manhandled YSR's brother Ravindra Reddy, the government recalled the two gunmen allotted to PJR and replaced them with a fresh batch of two gunmen. Though it was a prerogative of the police department to decide on whom to post and whom to recall as gunmen for an MLA, it should tell the MLA before making such changes.

But in PJR's case, it did not happen. A couple of days after the incident, he was surprised to find two new gunmen at his residence. He now fears the earlier two gunmen, who were eyewitnesses to the Jubilee Hills incident, could be used as evidences against his son in the criminal court. They might also provide vital information about his political strategies, because normally gunmen keep on eye on who is coming and who is going and what the leaders are up to. Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why PJR has become quiet in the last three or four days!

YSR's 'unconditional' apology to Babu with conditions

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy has finally realised the impact of his remarks against his bete noire and Telugu Desam supremo N Chandrababu Naidu. After insisting for full 24 hours that what he had spoken against Chandrababu Naidu was not in bad taste, Rajaseskhar Reddy has now bowed down to the public wish. He has tendered an unconditional apology to the leader of the Opposition. But Rajasekhar Reddy's apology would have been more weighty had he not attached strings to it. His apology reads like this, "if Chandrababu Naidu feels that I have spoken against his mother, I herewith tender an unconditional apology".

Many do not realise that there's a condition attached to this "unconditional apology". The condition is that if Chandrababu Naidu feels hurt.

Bramhani Steels drags Babu, Ramoji to court

Looks like the fight over the controversial Obulapuram iron ore mines has taken legal overtones. Industrialist and Bramhani Steels promotor G Janardhan Reddy has filed a suit in Rayadurgam Munsif Court against Telugu Desam supremo and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He sought damages in the defamation suit alleging that Chandrababu Naidu had defamed him by calling him an illegal miner and cheat.

He has also filed private cases against Telugu Desam MP MV Mysoora Reddy and media barons Ch Ramoji Rao (Eenadu) and V Radhakrishna (Jyothi) for publication of reports in their newspapers.

Bedlam in House over CM's remark against Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday plunged into pandemonium when Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's personal remark against TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu evoked strong reaction from the entire Opposition leading to suspension of 13 TDP members from the House for the day.

During the course of his clarification over allegations of illegal iron ore mining in Anantapur district, the Chief Minister directed his ire at Naidu and made certain personal remarks, triggering furore in the House.

Apparently provoked by Naidu seeking to interrupt him, Reddy made a stinging personal attack which was condemned by the entire Opposition as "unparliamentary."

Later, the Chief Minister said he had no objection to his remarks being expunged if they were found unparliamentary.

Speaker K R Suresh Reddy assured the agitated Opposition that he would expunge the remarks after verifying them.

Demanding apology from the Chief Minister, TDP members frequently stormed the podium and stalled the proceedings. Amidst din, the Speaker abruptly adjourned the House till 4.30 pm.

When the House re-assembled, there was no respite from the furore with TDP members surrounding the podium and raising slogans demanding Reddy's apology.

Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy then moved a resolution, under Rule 340, seeking suspension of 13 TDP MLAs present in the House.

Later, CPI (M) and CPI members staged a walk-out as a mark of protest against the CM's remarks.

Behind The Scene: Why did YSR foul mouth Naidu?

It surprised even the Congress MLAs when the otherwise cool and composed Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy suddenly lost his cool in the Assembly on Monday and used "harsh words" against Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu.

A review of the events that unfolded in the House shows that it was a deliberate and not a spontaneous act on the part of the Chief Minister to provoke the Telugu Desam party. Inquiries revealed that the strategy was worked out by Chief Whip Kiran Kumar Reddy with Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy and Media advisor Ravichander. They prompted the Chief Minister to run down the Opposition leader, so that the whole attention of the public on the TD leaders's dharna at Rayadurgam police station in Anantapur would be diverted. However, they did not expect YSR to use such a harsh language; they only gave him the evidence about Chandrababu Naidu's involvement in leasing of Obulapuram mines in his own regime, so that he would turn tables on the main Opposition.

As expected, the attention was diverted to the Assembly, while the police successfully put an end to the agitation of the TD MLAs. But, by losing his tongue, YSR created a fresh controversy, much to the chagrin of the Congress media managers.

Fact Sheet: Now, it's BSP turn to fire at Ramoji!

After the Congress party, it is now the turn of Bahujan Samaj Party to fire salvos at media baron Ramoji Rao, in the State.

The BSP, though it has a very little presence in the State, has been writing to all the BC and SC organisations as to how Eenadu newspaper is ignoring the news pertaining to Dalits. The BSP is particularly peeved at publishing a photograph of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati with that of Monica Bedi, film across who was arrested in the pass port forgery case, thereby equating both the women, saying that both these women could go scot free without punishment for lack of evidence.

The BSP activists took out rallies in several parts of the State in protest against the Eenadu report, saying it was nothing but insulting crores of Dalits. The party is now trying to take up the issue of "self-respect for the Dalits" and use it as an election plank in the next elections, along with the other weaker sections.

Media makes mountain out of molehill

The media in Andhra Pradesh, which is following an out and out anti-government policy, has found an excellent opportunity to deride Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy by making a mountain out of mole hill in the Monday's unsavoury episode in the Assembly.

Right from the time the incident happened in the Assembly till late in the night, Eenadu television carried an opinion poll on whether it was justified on the part of the Chief Minister to use foul language against Naidu and as expected, it was a sort of mobilising the public opinion against the government and YSR in particular. So was the case with TV, though on a lessor scale. The channels continuously aired the scenes in the Assembly to create a negative impression about the Chief Minister and played down his clarifications.

As expected, the two newspapers – Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi – carried banner stories against YSR and wrote editorials. And the Telugu Desam made use of every opportunity to take advantage of the media support. The Congress leaders are now lamenting for not having a publication or channel to give the otherside of the story!

'Assembly' Review: 'Chiru' and 'NBK' Can't Compete

Small Screen Film: Assembly
Genre: Sentimental Action Flick
Rating: Not Applicable
Lead Artistes: YSR, Chandrababu, MS, Suresh Reddy, Nagam Janardana Reddy, Yerabili Dayakar, Kiran Kumar Reddy and Devender Goud.
Dialogues: Self Written by all artistes
Producers: Citizens of Andhra Pradesh
Direction: 'Unfortunate Fate' Of AP Citizens
Introduction:Paruchuri Gopala Krishna's dialogues

'Mokke Kada ani peekithe peeka kostha…', 'nuvvu molathadu kattina magadivaithey ra ra vachchi nannu champu…', stand no where before the dialogues of YSR, "Nee Thalliki enduku puttava anukunela chestaa.., 'Ninnu kadigesthaa chandrababu.nee thalli kadupuna puttaka poyunte bagundedhi ani anukunela chesthaa"

Chandrababu's counter, "Nindu Sabhalo Thallula gurinchi matlaadathaara..Intha neechama?" also stands on par.

'Mogudini Kotti mogasalaku ekkinattu undhi' is another counter of YSR on Chandrababu.

Story:
The entire issue is about lease for mining. The action episodes on Yerebili Dayakar and Nagam Janardana Reddy are shown in high dose. Yerabilli has shown his muscle power on uniformed policeman and that resulted in receiving blows from the police troops.

Narration and Performances:
Every sane citizen would feel, 'Where are we going?', 'Who is hero and who is villain?'

Yes, there is a big dispute in declaring the hero in this movie. For some YSR looks like hero and for others he may be villain. Chandrababu appears as hero for some and KCR appears to be hero for others. It's again perception of each individual that declares the hero.

Coming to M Satyanarayana Rao, he appears to be comedian for some and as comedy-villain for others. He does various entertaining things by entering into the cabins of other party leaders and cracking jokes with them.

Speaker Suresh Reddy tries to enact the balanced role. Devender Goud and Kiran Kumar Reddy are the best supporting actors in this entire show.

The citizens of AP, the real producers of this show, are wasting their money by making such shows.

Analysis:
It's a moving theme on small screen. It's first of its kind in the history on small screen or silver screen. Each and every scene in this 'Assembly' can be taken as comedy by some, sentimental by some, action by others and a tear jerking tragedy by another segment of people. The perception depends on the minds of the beholder.

It is the unfortunate fate of AP citizens for watching the sessions in Assembly as a comedy and action based entertainment. People are watching no other channel other than the live telecast of Assembly session for the real time entertainment in it. The law makers, rulers and responsible opposition party leaders are behaving in spiteful way creating insecurity among citizens. What is the agenda of Assembly? What is to be discussed and what is going on?

Assembly sessions proved be bigger entertainment than Cricket matches and movies. What a miserable plight?