Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Ministers from Andhra and Rayalseema regions of Andhra Pradesh have invited the wrath of the votaries of Telangana by calling the Telangana movement 'anti national,' 'seditious' and a 'threat to the integrity of the nation.'
Govt decides to impose central rule in Andhra Pradesh New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) Govt to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh The government on Friday decided to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh and keep the assembly in suspended animation. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union cabinet while taking up an agenda item "political situation in Andhra Pradesh" and "proclamation under Article 356 (1)", sources said. The move comes in the wake of the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy following the government's decision to bifurcate the state. Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan will hold the charge during the period of President's rule. The term of the 294-member current Andhra Pradesh assembly expires on June 2, 2014 before which elections are to be held. The Election Commission is set to declare assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections in the next few days. The ruling Congress in the state did not propose another candidate to succeed Reddy, who quit as a member of Legislative Assembly as well as from the party protesting against the decision to create Telangana. The bill to create the country's 29th state, by splitting Andhra Pradesh, was passed by Parliament in the just-concluded winter session.
If the BJP gets only 200 seats and wants to remain in power, Modi will have to make way -- either for a proxy of his choice, or for an internal rival, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
On his maiden visit to the national capital after taking over as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, K Rosaiah on Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and is understood to have discussed political developments in the state, particularly the convening of the Congress Legislature Party meeting.The chief minister is also expected to have discussed the state's political situation, in the wake of Y S Rajasekahara Reddy's death.
for the Congress top brass, Srinivas possesses all the traits for an effective leader
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday criticised the YSR Congress party chief and Kadapa Member of Parliament Y S Jaganmohan Reddy by calling him an "opportunist". Speaking at a function in Guntur, the chief minister, who was joined by state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana in the attack against Jagan, alleged that the Kadapa MP had amassed wealth by misusing the powers of his late father and former AP chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
In a major operation on Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation officer arrested Andhra Pradesh Excise Minister M Venkatramana in the disproportionate assets case involving YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
"There will be no President's rule in Andhra Pradesh," said a senior All India Congress Committee functionary on condition of anonymity.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah was on Saturday nominated the Congress Legislature Party leader by party chief Sonia Gandhi, bringing down the curtains on the issue of sucessor to late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash more than two months ago.
Throwing a direct challenge at the Congress high command, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday said that he would ensure the defeat of the AP Reorganisation Bill 2013 when it comes up for passage in the state assembly.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has summoned Andhra Chief Minister K Rosaiah to New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the future of member of Parliament Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and his supporters.
Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
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.
Ahead of the crucial Congress meeting on Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kirankumar Reddy on Friday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and briefed her about the political situation in the state.
A group of supporters of unified Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday attacked the local Bharatiya Janata Party office in Vijayawada, where a press conference was on, and damaged furniture.
'I shall soon enter politics in Andhra Pradesh to serve the people. Before that, I have decided to visit different parts of the district to know the people's pulse and understand their problems.'
The deadlock in the Andhra Pradesh assembly is likely to end on Monday, when the Telangana Bill will finally be presented in the House.
Guntur MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao terms Congress party's decision to divide Andhra Pradesh as painful
The Congress will be wiped out in the next elections, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, one of the six MPs who was expelled by the Congress for opposing the creation of Telangana, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
Ahead of the crucial Congress Working Committee meeting likely to be held in New Delhi on July 28regarding the Telangana issue, MLAs from the Seema-Andhra region have stepped up pressure not to bifurcate the state.
Normal life was badly affected in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as a bandh against the Union cabinet's approval of a bill for division of Andhra Pradesh began on Friday.
Andhra Pradesh now faces the specter of President's Rule due to the political instability prevalent in the state with the resignations of a large number of legislators over the Telangana issue, questions are also being asked whether the happenings in Andhra Pradesh cast their shadow on the Manmohan Singh led-United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi.
'Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of a caste census though his party has been doing injustice on this front from the 1950s.'
Protests against the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh rocked Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions for the second day on Thursday, with united Andhra supporters taking out rallies and preventing public transport buses from plying.
Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bonds scheme and termed it an important step in ensuring transparency in electoral funding.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
Madhu Yashki Goud, senior Congress Member of Parliament from Telangana, who has been instrumental in the decision making on Tuesday, says these misconceptions are being spread by uncouth MPs from Rayalseema and Andhra.
While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is considering staying away from mainstream politics for a few months after resigning, Seema-Andhra MPs are gearing up to join the BJP or YSR Congress. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Scores of opposition workers were taken into custody by police in several areas across the state.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced income tax relief for the middle class, a Rs 2 lakh crore outlay for job creation schemes over the next five years and a spending splurge for states run by her party's new coalition partners as she unveiled the Modi 3.0 government's first budget after the general elections.
Bookies are betting big this election. In Andhra Pradesh, the stakes have touched nearly Rs 10,000 crore over who would form the government in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Seema-Andhra).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to send out the message that the ruling BJP, unlike its predecessors at the helm, is not guided by parochial politics in recognising contributions in the public life, as the party looks to break new ground during the polls.
In a big organisational rejig, the BJP named Union minister G Kishan Reddy, Sunil Jakhar and Babulal Marandi as party presidents in Telangana, Punjab and Jharkhand respectively.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested a suspected Naxal leader identified as Savita alias Madhvi in Khammam district of the state.
