Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and leaders of political parties in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the problem of division in New Delhi Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana state.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Praja Rajyam Party clamouring to join hands with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti over the demand for a separate state, pressure is mounting on Congress president Sonia Gandhi to initiate steps to deal with the issue immediately. The growing unrest within the party, especially among the leaders of Telangana region, came to the fore on Sunday with Congress Working Committee member G Venkat Swamy openly supporting the demand for Telangana.
As the extended Winter Session of Parliament entered its third and last week on Monday, the Telangana issue continued to disrupt Rajya Sabha leading to its adjournment for the day.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The 34-year-old Hyderabadi has not been able to cast her vote in the Telangana Assembly elections on Friday after her name was not on voters' list.
With the deadline for the Centre's decision on the vexatious Telangana statehood issue approaching fast, the war of words between leaders of Telangana and Andhra-Rayalaseema regions has escalated.
Seizures in poll-bound states see sharp rise since implementation of Model Code of Conduct.
Accusing the BJP of working to 'divide India and spread hate and violence', he asserted that a fight of ideologies is going on in India.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a swipe at critics, saying they may remain happy with their arrogance, lies, pessimism and ignorance but people should be beware of their divisive agenda as an old habit of 70 years cannot go away so easily.
The resignation of 12 members of Parliament of various political parties from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh has not been accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
The former Union minister said it is 'quite heartening' to see that Gandhi has taken up the initiative to involve Kishor to come out with a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the party's revival plan.
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.
The YSR Congress Party headed by Jaganmohan Reddy has written to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy urging him to call for an urgent assembly session to defeat the proposal to divide the state and carve out a separate Telangana.
Profesor Kodandaram, chairman of the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee, says that they still do not have faith in the Congress as they feel that the formation of the new state will be delayed.
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.
The Congress's strategy is to get the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha and then try its luck in the Lok Sabha, where it is unsure of the Bharatiya Janata party's support for it. This, say sources, is the GoM's face-saver plan, as the Rajya Sabha's okay will keep the Bill alive for the 16th Lok Sabha.
The demand for removal of Justice A K Ganguly, accused of harassing a law intern, from the post of Chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission, along with Telangana issue paralysed the functioning of Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The `Telangana Praja Garjana' rally, to be held at the Parade Grounds, comes days after the UPA's decision to constitute a sub-committee to examine the demand.
A day after 16 YSR Congress MLAs and one from Congress announced resignations in support of united Andhra Pradesh, two more ruling party legislators from non-Telangana regions today said they would also quit as the central leadership moves towards a decision on statehood.
Keeping the Lok Sabha polls in mind, the Congress has chalked out a strategy in which all regions in Andhra Pradesh will remain happy, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Time is running out for a hapless UPA govt over the Telangana bill, and the latest observation by the Rajya Sabha secretariat -- that the bill has financial implications and so must be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha first -- has only worsened the crisis for the ruling alliance. Anita Katyal reports.
There has been a mixed response to the latest statement of Uion home minister P Chidambaram on the issue of Telangana state promising large-scale consultations with all the political parties.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The commotion at Lok Sabha over the Telangana issue on Tuesday has reflected badly on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred MPs' complaints on the issue involving BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri's use of objectionable words against BSP's Danish Ali to the Privileges Committee, sources said on Thursday.
Shankar Rai, a Congress leader from Telangana intends to install a nine-foot statue of party president Sonia Gandhi, depicting her as 'Telangana Talli' or Mother Telangana, at a spot near the Bangalore-Hyderabad highway registered in his daughter name.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh and several Congress leaders are against the formation of a separate state but are supporting the decision in the hope that it would win the party seats in the region. Renu Mittal reports
There is nobody like Jaipal Reddy in Congress party. He is slotted to be the first Congress chief minister of Telangana if and when the Congress gets hold of the reins of power. Ten minutes after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill Reddy spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in the corridors of Parliament.
The former Congress president alleged that PM Modi had a "monopoly over corruption".
