Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon on Monday as Telangana Rashtra Samithi members raised slogans for Telangana statehood, a demand which was endorsed by Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj who asked the government to list the steps taken by it on the issue.
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
With the Left parties' withdrawal of support from the Manmohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance creating a political uncertainty at the Centre, some leaders have started efforts to woo Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhara Rao, to secure his support for the beleaguered coalition."I told him clearly that we will extend support to the UPA only if the government announces the formation of Telangana state," Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.
Creating a stir in the political circles, the film star-turned-politician and member of Lok Sabha of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, Vijayshanti, on Friday met the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Rao had quit the UPA ministry last month.
If we get a chance to form the next government at the Centre, all backward states will get special category status, Kumar said.
Jagan maintains a cordial working relationship with the BJP leadership. This may help him get additional financial support from the Centre.
The Modi juggernaut is all set to paint the five south Indian states in saffron colours, writes R Rajagopalan.
Reddy alone will take oath on Thursday while his Council of Ministers is likely to be constituted on June 7, party sources said.
The Congress may stand a better chance in the assembly polls if it followed the 'Himachal model', suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kumar, whose "national role" has become a matter of much speculation since his break-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party last month, however also sought to rule himself out, for the umpteenth time, of the Prime Ministerial race.
Labelled as the semi-final before the big Lok Sabha poll, assembly elections in five states will set the tone for summer of 2019.
Given Modi's penchant for springing a surprise, the BJP nominee for next President could be anyone. The only thing certain is that it will be an RSS person, reports R Rajagopalan.
The Telangana Bill, which was rejected by the Andhra Pradesh assembly on January 30, will return to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday along with six bundles containing 8,049 amendments.
Having ensured the passage of the Telangana Bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's main concern now is to see there is no tension in the state and that the decision is accepted amicably by the people of Seema-Andhra following reports of simmering anger in this region over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
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