The no trust motion tabled by the main opposition Telugu Desam Party against the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh was defeated in the State Legislative Assembly in the early hours of Thursday. The motion was put to vote by Speaker K R Suresh Reddy around 1.45 am after the House witnessed acrimonious debate over the motion for nearly 39 hours spread over the last three days.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Rajashekhar Reddy told reporters that TRS, which fought the assembly election in alliance with the Congress, would join the government on June 21.
In a letter to the prime minister, he had demanded Dr Singh to visit Mudigonda village to console the families of the police firing victims.
Main opposition Telugu Desam Party on Thursday issued notice to Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar for moving a no-confidence motion against the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Friday gave a notice to Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar seeking to move a no-confidence motion against the Congress government for "failing to keep its promise on the Telangana statehood issue."
The State Legislative Assembly was also adjourned for the day after it witnessed uproar.
Congress Members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assembly from Telangana on Monday slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and accused him of weakening the party in the region that is witnessing an agitation for statehood. The MPs also condemned the "repressive measures" against Telangana protagonists and alleged that the chief minister's actions were "provoking" people of the region.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday asserted that there would be no going back on the issue of tabling a resolution in the state assembly seeking the formation of a separate Telangana state. Briefing newsmen after an emergency meeting of the state cabinet late on Thursday night, chaired by Chief Minister M K Rosaiah, Information Minister J Geeta Reddy said they would abide by the decision of the Congress high command on the Telangana resolution.
Be it conducting conferences and conventions or coming out with tall claims and promises, the parties are vying with one another to get a stronghold in the minds of the voters.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress Party on Thursday gave separate notices in the Legislative Assembly for a no-confidence motion against ruling Congress government in Andhra Pradesh.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh suffered yet another blow with its Kakinada MLA Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy formally joining the YSR Congress on Thursday.
The Seema-Andhra leaders had sought four more weeks for the discussion, but their demand will be turned down and only a week's extension will be granted, sources told Rediff.com
Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday Rosaiah said that he will abide by the decisions and directions of high command on the issue of Telangana but so far he had not received any instruction on when to move a resolution in the state assembly.
The number of Congress MPs to resign to protest against the Centre's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh has gone up to three, while 90 MLAs from Congress, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam have also resigned. Two TDP MPs have also submitted their resignation.
Two more Congress members of Legislative Assembly on Thursday appeared to be switching loyalty to YSR Congress of Kadapa Member of Parliament Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was today confirmed killed in a helicopter crash in the state's dense Nallamala forest area, potentially weakening the Congress as well as investor sentiment.
Congress lawmakers from Telangana region on Monday protested before party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad against the Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker's move to reject resignations of MLAs over the statehood demand.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh has issued show-cause notices to four rebel members of legislative assembly who have openly been sailing with YSR Congress Party President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
With K Rosaiah stepping down as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, insiders say that Kiran Kumar Reddy, speaker of the Andhra Pradesh assembly, is the frontrunner of the post.
It has been virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming chief minister soon after his father's death in September 2009.
In a bizarre incident, a pro Telangana youth committed self immolation in Osmania University as a 'thanksgiving to God for fulfilling his wish that state Congress president D Srinivas should be defeated in the by elections in Telangana.'
The former Congress MP also told his supporters in his hometown Pulivendula near Kadapa that the 2014 assembly elections in the state would be his "finals".
Making a suo motu statement in the State legislative Assembly after Telangana Rashtra Samithi members were suspended for disrupting the proceedings, Reddy observed that the Telangana issue cannot be resolved overnight and appealed to the TRS and other parties to wait till a decision is taken in a democratic manner.
Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy said that the new body would be created as a statutory entity to decide the level of backwardness in each of the state's 23 districts and its three major regions -- Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Without directly referring to the demand for a separate Telangana state, Dr Reddy asserted that his government would set up the statutory board to recommend measures for accelerated development of the backward districts.
As the news of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's proposed press conference in Delhi on Monday came out, political activity in Andhra Pradesh picked up.
The prime minister is scheduled to visit two villages -- one each in Kurnool and Mehboobnagar districts.
Party's general secretary Ram Madhav, whose name was doing rounds as a contender, is not among the six candidates with sources saying he is likely to get a bigger responsibility in the organisation following a rejig expected soon.
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, soon after recommending dissolution of the legislative assembly on Friday, had told reporters he would favour elections in February. That now looks unlikely.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly was on Friday adjourned for 15 minutes amid debate over whether or not to continue proceedings in the wake of the en masse resignations of legislators, protesting the Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana.
The Congress top brass late Thursday night assured its agitating legislators of Andhra Pradesh that "no whip" will be issued to vote in favour of a separate statehood resolution, if and when it comes in the Assembly.
Vicky Nanjappa reports on the dilemma that the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Kiran Kumar Reddy faces in the wake of Congress legislators from Telangana deciding to quit their seats to press for a separate state.
The Congress appears to be veering round to taking a call on the contentious Telangana statehood issue with party leader in charge of Andhra Pradesh saying consultation process is over and time for a decision has come.
The populist promises made by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for the forthcoming assembly elections will cost the state exchequer a whopping Rs 5,000 crore.The ruling Congress party has termed Naidu's promises a result of 'unimaginable frustration'. "He is so desperate to come to power that he is ready to make any promise to the people", said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Both TRS and BJP are contesting on the separate statehood plank while the Congress is banking on development of the region and TDP has expressed its support for "Samaikya" (United) Andhra Pradesh.