The new Council of Ministers has representation from almost all the states, except Andhra Pradesh and the north-eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura.
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
Normal life in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh continued to remain affected for the second consecutive day on Suday due to the ongoing 36-hour 'rail roko' call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee in support of their demand for separate statehood.
Chidambaram appealed to political parties in Andhra Pradesh to read the recommendations of the Justice Srikrishna Committee on Telangana with an "open mind" and give "impartial consideration" to them.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu blamed the ruling Congress for the present state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh and asked the party to bail the state out of the crisis. "This has become such a complex issue that divisions have taken place in political parties. Congress is responsible for this and they should solve the problem," Naidu, on a tour of West Godavari and East Godavari districts in coastal Andhra, said at Tanuku.
The politics of Andhra Pradesh has seen some paradigm changes during Jagan Reddy's absence. But now that the YSR Congress chief is out on bail, he'll definitely seek revenge from his tormentors -- the ruling Congress, notes Mohammed Siddique.
The promises of yore about bringing Telangana on par with the rest of Andhra Pradesh has been on paper and the intent not honourably translated into reality on ground. And those who prevented that from happening comprise the very section which is seeking to prevent, with unprecedented defiance, the creation of a new state. All political parties, except the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi have gone back on their poll assurances of Telangana's statehood
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
In the midst of political heat over Congress Member of Parliament Jagan's controversial yatra, two persons from Andhra Pradesh have sought registration of a political party named after his late father and former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
'If he has not achieved 'Congress mukt Bharat' even now, the question of his creating a 'DMK mukt Tamil Nadu' does not arise,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday said the Centre would take a decision on the contentious statehood issue only after the eight recognised political parties in the state expressed their views on it.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah may be shifted as Governor of Karnataka or Madhya Pradesh on account of his fragile health.
The Congress believes the Telangana Rashtra Samithi will decide in favour of a merger as the decision on statehood has deprived the regional party of its chief electoral plank and an issue that defined its identity. Anita Katyal reports
Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old leader, whose party emerged victorious in 151 seats in the 175-member strong state assembly.
Whether the Congress takes a decision for or against a Telangana state, its strongest bastion Andhra Pradesh weakens. Sheela Bhatt looks at the tough choices before the party.
In a brazen show of competitive politics, Andhra Pradesh MPs belonging to Congress and Telugu Desam were Wednesday locked in a scuffle in public view at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun over ferrying pilgrims back to the state.
The political crisis and uncertainty for the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh further deepened on Monday, with 26 members of legislative assembly (of the party) deciding to submit their resignations in support of beleaguered YSR Congress president and member of Parliament YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Mohammed Siddique reportS.
Naidu was an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist during the Emergency and was arrested and jailed.
The controversy over the extension of the disputed temple adjacent to historic monument of Charminar was now threatening to snowball in to a major political crisis in Andhra Pradesh. Angered over the alleged pro-Hindutva attitude of the state government and the police, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has threatened to withdraw the support from the Kiran Kumar Reddy government.
Naidu, whose 150-day-long Mee Kosam Yatra entered the West Godavari district on Sunday night spoke to Rao for 15 minutes, well informed and reliable sources in the TDP said. Since Chandrasekhara Rao left the TDP in 2001 and launched the movement for Telangana and formed his own political party, it was first time that the two leaders spoke directly.
'The others have been looting the people all these years. If you don't do that, you can do a lot for the people,' says Tamil star politician Vijayakanth.
This was in accordance with the larger strategy of creating a constitutional and political crisis in Andhra Pradesh to force Centre's hand on Telangana state. Of the 119 MLAs of the region, only 77 have sent their resignations so far.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress on Tuesday accused it of playing "cheap politics" ahead of Lok Sabha polls on the issue of 1962 India-China war in the wake of a classified report on it being made public, saying it only showed the principal opposition party's mindset.
The wedding celebrations show the controversial mining baron retains influence over elected representatives, whichever party is in power.
Journalists across Andhra Pradesh came out on the streets on Wednesday to protest the arrest of the editor and two journalists of Andhra Jyothy, a prominent Telugu daily, on Thursday night.Hundreds of journalists, along with the members of various political parties, took out a rally in Hyderabad from the Press Club at Basheerbagh to the Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund. They raised slogans against the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government and the police.
Today, with the Lok Sabha polls only months away, any inter-state dispute over the Cauvery water dispute has the potential to take more political turns than otherwise, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Telangana issue is on the boil again. Other than creating national interest in the last few decades, not much has been spoken about the movement. That said the release of the book titled Telangana: The State of Affairs recently could not have come at a better time.
Further deepening the current crisis in Andhra Pradesh over Telangana, political parties and organisation of students, teachers and intellectuals have formed a new Joint Action Committee to fight to preserve the unity of the state. The new body has called for a bandh on January 4.
Categorically ruling out the possibility of a merger with any other party at any point, YSR Congress on Saturday dared the opposition Telugu Desam Party to move a No Confidence Motion in the assembly against the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh. Addressing a press conference, party spokespersons Bajireddy Goverdhan, Vasireddy Padma, and Rehman refuted the "politically-inspired media propaganda" that YSR Congress would merge with the Congress.
Even as the political big guns including Chandrababu Naidu, Chiranjeevi and Pavan Kalyan are visiting different parts of the state to mobilize the support in favor of their respective political parties, another big star of Telugu films is all set to jump in to the fray, elevating the political din in the state to a new high.
Kavitha has spent around 18-19 hours at the ED headquarters in central Delhi during her two appearances on March 11 and March 20.
The probe into the assassination plan against certain right-wing political leaders and journalists, allegedly hatched by some Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives, seems to have fizzled out.
At 47 protests a day, the state has become the most restive in the country and investors are becoming increasingly wary
Political parties in AP blamed the state government for being hasty in its decision to grant reservations to Muslims.
The minister, who was in Brussels on a two-day visit, said that seven Chief Minsters including Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Rajasthan and Kerala have already given their written commitment on allowing FDI in the sector.
The Congress knew that Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh are lost for a long time as Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's leadership is taking deep roots. It also knew that if the next government is formed by the NDA then Telangana will definitely be created depriving them any credit. This pushed the Congress to finally endorse the new state. But the huge risk behind the decision and the uncertainties that go with it are making Congress nervous, says Sheela Bhatt.
Senior Congress party leaders though continue to be divided on the formation of Telangana state, political expediency finally won the day, reports Anita Katyal
Thursday's crucial meeting on Telangana to discuss the Shri Krishna Commission report is expected to be mired in another controversy with some political parties deciding to boycott it.
This will pave the way for emergence of 24,000 new panchayat-level leaders in Telangana, he said.
