The leaders from Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema are making a last ditch attempt to thwart the formation of Telagana, which is expected to be announced on January 27. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Generation and supply of electricity was severely affected in several parts of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions due to ongoing strike by employees of power utilities against the division of Andhra Pradesh.
Normal life remained crippled for the second day on Saturday in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions where a bandh is being observed to protest the Centre's decision to bifurcate the state.
Amid the row over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, a Union minister from Seemandhra has met senior Telangana Congress leader and his colleague at the Centre Jaipal Reddy seeking his support for making Hyderabad a Union Territory.
Around 2.7 lakh people who went to sleep in Telangana woke up in Seemandhra on Monday morning. The residents of 337 villages situated in the Paloncha and Bhadrachalam areas in Khammam have now become part of Andhra Pradesh with the formation of Telangana.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of imposing President's Rule in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of widespread protests in Seemandhra region against the decision to create Telangana.
The draft bill, approved by the Union abinet, seems to be much more favorable to the wishes of the people from Telangana than it is for those from Seemandhra, says Mohammed Siddique
In what started off as a one-sided skirmish in Seemandhra now is promising to become a full-fledged battle. There are only two players here -- the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress Party -- and it is going to be a direct battle between them. Vicky Nanjappa reveals finds out the ground level situation for these two parties, and more interestingly how they are both fighting for the fallen legacy of the Congress in order to win the battle.
The Seemandhra Lawyers Joint Action Committee has requested the Andhra Cricket Association to cancel the November 24 India-West Indies ODI scheduled at Visakhapatnam, as it will "hurt feelings of crores of Samaikyandhra agitators fighting for a united AP."
Invoking Telugu pride, Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government has insulted Telugu people often and divided Andhra Pradesh without taking people into confidence.
Anti-Telangana protests continued in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday even as mild tension prevailed at two government offices in Hyderabad over the separate Telangana statehood issue.
Angry over the way the Telangana Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi threatened to stall the Rajya Sabha, where the bill would be brought on Wednesday.
Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on Saturday took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi, saying she "ignored" the groundswell of support against division of Andhra Pradesh by not listening to the party leaders on the issue.
In an open defiance, Union Minister M M Pallam Raju on Wednesday questioned the government's hurry to push the Telangana bill and said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's disapproval of disruptions in Parliament was not "fair".
Union Minister of State for Commerce Daggubati Purandeswari on Saturday indicated that Congress ministers and Members of Parliament from Seemandhra would vote against the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill-2013 in Parliament if the Centre did not concede to their demands over protecting the interests of people of their region.
As the one-month deadline set by the Centre for a decision on the Telangana issue nears, leaders from Telangana and non-Telangana regions sought to step up pressure by sticking to their known stands during meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders on Tuesday.
While an embarrassed government is using technical procedures to ensure that the no-confidence motion does not come up for discussion, the Seemandhra MPs are struggling to get the required support for it. Anita Katyal reports.
There are indications that the BJP may not be as enthusiastic as it was on the Telangana issue now that the Congress has cleared the decks for the creation of the new state.
The ruling Congress suffered a setback in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday as three Members of the Legislative Assembly from the coastal region quit the party in protest against the bifurcation of the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party supported the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha onThursday but sought amendments to ensure the Seemandhra region got justice and a "defective" legislation was not passed.
Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the public has already expressed "no-confidence" against the Centre and there was no need for bringing a motion against it in this regard.
A final decision on the contentious Telangana issue would be taken after detailed consultations with leaders of both Telangana and Seemandhra regions at an 'an appropriate time and place,' Union Health Minister and Congress in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs, Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Saturday.
Two thermal power stations at Vijayawada and Kadapa went into steam on Friday as power employees in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh resumed work after calling off their indefinite strike "temporarily" in view of cyclonic storm Phailan.
The alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party may have been cemented, but the story is not over for YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy yet. "I will do business with anyone but the Congress," he said making his post poll intentions very clear, Jagan told mediapersons in Hyderabad, while saying that that he has big plans ahead for the new state of Seemandhra.
Following the Bharatiya Janata Party-Telugu Desam Party alliance, tempers are flying high, with each side saying that they could manage without another. BJP supporters often question as to why their leadership does not break the alliance instead of putting up with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu's tantrums. Vicky Nanjappa reports
The demand for turning Hyderabad into a UnionTerritory on the lines of Chandigarh and make it the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana may be considered by the government.
In more problems for the Congress on the Telangana issue, a Congress and a Telugu Desam Party member on Thursday gave notices for a no-confidence motion against the Manmohan Singh government over its plan to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
Four Telugu desam Party members of Parliament on Saturday gheraoed Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde outside his North Block office and demanded inclusion in the GoM on Telangana of representatives from the joint action committee protesting against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday offered conditional support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the crucial Telangana bill, making it clear that the government should address concerns of the people of both Telangana and Seemandhra.
YSR Congress honorary president Y S Vijayamma called off her indefinite fast opposing proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday after she was forcibly shifted to a hospital in Guntur in the wee hours.
Sharpening his attack against the Congress, Narendra Modi on Friday said an anti-Congress storm was brewing in the country and it would intensify into a 'tsunami', which the party would not be able to survive in the Lok Sabha elections.
Nearly two weeks after Parliament passed a bill for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the central government has decided that the new Telangana state will be born on June 2.
Anti-Telangana activists on Sunday held protests on railway tracks here delaying at least two long-distance trains, the police said.
Pro and anti-Telangana supporters on Wednesday clashed with each other during a protest outside the Andhra Bhawan in New Delhi in support of their demands.
The Narendra Modi government's 'surprising' move to take the ordinance route on the Polavaram project due to which seven mandals and 270 hamlets of Telangana will be merged into Seemandhra has irked the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is observing a bandh today in protest. Vicky Nanjappa in an exclusive conversation with TRS leader K T Rama Rao.
Realising that there was no possibility of being re-elected on a Congress ticket, Rao has now decided to hitch his wagon to the Bhartiya Janata Party. In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Anita Katyal Union Textiles Minister K S Rao explains the reason for leaving the Congress, his assessment of Rahul Gandhi's leadership and his future plans.
The two shared cold vibes and failed to talk to each other at the Hyderabad rally along with Narendra Modi. Vicky Nanjappa reports how their lack of camaraderie could be their doom in Seemandhra.
Congress legislators from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseeema would soon undertake a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Under fire for his pepper spray attack in Lok Sabha during introduction of Telangana bill, Seemandhra MP L Rajagopal on Thursday defended his actions, saying he did it in self defence.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded special category status for the residual state.