The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh was left red-faced on Saturday when two of its Cabinet ministers were arrested by the police in Mahbubnagar district to avert a showdown between them. Endowments Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and Information and Public Relations Minister D K Aruna were taken into police custody at two separate places and shifted to different police stations as tension mounted in Gadwal constituency in view of the former's paada yatra (foot march).
Cyclone Hudhud pounded the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with heavy rain and winds of almost 200 kmph on Sunday killing four people and left a trail of destruction with Vishakapatnam where the very severe storm made landfall the worst hit.
The acid attack on two college students in Warangal took another gruesome turn on Friday night, when the three accused in the case were shot dead by the police in an encounter in the outskirts of Warangal. District Superintendent of Police V C Sajjanar said that the three accused S Srinvas Rao, Potharaju Harikrishna and B Sanjay were killed when they attacked the policemen while trying to escape.The two college going girls, Swapnalika and Pranitha, were seriously injured.
The Communist Party of India announced alliance with main opposition Telugu Desam Party for assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh scheduled to be held early next year saying the main objective of such a tie-up is to defeat ruling Congress.
Praja Rajyam party leader and actor Chiranjeevi has taken his fight directly in to the camp of his 'enemy's fort'. He started his "Praja Ankitam Yatra" in Kadapa district from Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's home constituency Pulivendula today amid tight security.
Khai Muk, the tropical cyclone in the south-east Bay of Bengal which was threatening to strike coastal Andhra region since Friday, has weakened, the Cyclone Warning Center at Visakhapatanam said on Saturday. "It is likely to weaken further into a depression or even low pressure," S Venkateshwarulu, director of CWC, told rediff.com.Earlier, the state government had put the administration in all the nine coastal districts on high alert to deal with the situation.
