Botsa Satyanrayana, a powerful Congress leader of the backward classes from north coastal Andhra went all out in attacking Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at the cabinet meeting on Thursday evening in Hyderabad.
Even as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and others celebrated the Centre's announcement to initiate the process for carving out a separate Telangana State, over 200 people were taken into preventive custody on Thursday after widespread protests in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of the state.
With just one day to go for the Andhra Pradesh Formation Day celebrations, regional tensions have heightened with some unidentified persons burning the statue of Potti Sriramulu, the architect of an integrated Andhra Pradesh.
The name 'Laila' which means dark-haired beauty or night in Persian was suggested by Pakistan to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) which is tasked by the World Meteorological Organisation to track and name cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean, an IMD official said.
Members belonging to the ruling Congress and Telugu Desam Party tried to disrupt the customary address by the Governor to the joint session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature on Monday by raising slogans for and against the bifurcation of the state.
Andhra Pradesh is facing the threat of a cyclonic storm even while the state is struggling to limp to normalcy after the havoc caused by heavy rains and floods claimed 25 lives in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh over the past five days.
Political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the proposed Telangana statehood further deepened on Saturday with 20 ministers resigning for the cabinet.
Bandhs and protests over the Centre's move to create a separate Telangana state continued for the second day on Saturday, affecting normal life in coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions of Andhra Pradesh.
The Union government's move to initiate the process for a separate Telangana state has raised both political and business concerns.
Telugu Desam president president N Chandrababu Naidu has held the Congress responsible for the flood of resignations by the members of Assembly from coastal Andhra and Telangana region.
Till September 1948, Telangana region was part of Nizam's dominion, which was the biggest Muslim state in India under British rule, known as the Hyderabad state.
A meeting of political leaders from Rayala Seema region, held to discuss the stand to be taken before the Srikrishna Commission on the issue of bifurcation of the state, has sent ripples among the supporters of united Andhra Pradesh. Senior Congress leader and former minister J C Diwakar Reddy has shocked the leaders from coastal Andhra region by suggesting that Rayala Seema should be a part of Telangana rather than Andhra.
Normal life was hit in most parts of Andhra Pradesh as the day-long strike called by the key Opposition Telugu Desam -- in protest against the arrest of its president N Chandrababu Naidu and other party leaders by the Maharashtra police -- evoked a mixed response.
Congress MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been critical of the party leadership, has kicked off the second leg of his yatra.
The company has executed financing agreements for the imported coal fired project, the largest in South India.
Alleging that false cases are being foisted against those agitating for separate Telangana, the all-party Joint Action Committee, spearheading the agitation for a separate state, on Monday asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah to withdraw all such cases.
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.
The statement of the Central government on the situation in Andhra Pradesh has been postponed till Wednesday as the ongoing consultations with the different groups from Telagnana and coastal Andhra regions in New Delhi remain inconclusive on Tuesday.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the Telangana issue cannot be discussed in Lok Sabha unless the Andhra Pradesh assembly passes a resolution for a separate state
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.
Home Secretary G K Pillai backtracked on his statement given earlier on Friday where he said that Hyderabad would be the capital of the proposed Telangana state.
Congress legislators from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseeema would soon undertake a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Heavy rain in coastal Andhra Pradesh in the wake of Cyclone Laila has paralysed industrial activity in the state, including closure of oil rigs in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. Cargo handling at ports also suffered due to the incessant rain.
Satyam Computer Services Ltd founder, B Ramalinga Raju, his brothers and their spouses have acquired 1,065 properties with a registered value of Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion). These include 109 properties in coastal Andhra, 11 in Karnataka, 40 in Nagpur, 29 in Chennai and 876 in Hyderabad and the surrounding Rangareddy district, according to sources tracking developments in the Central Bureau of Investigation probe of the Satyam case.
A committee has been set up to finalise the capital for the region, which will consult both Union government and both the new state governments. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Is Hyderabad the reason Telangana wants separation from Andhra Pradesh? Or has perceived backwardness of the Telangana region fuelled demand for a separate state? Mayank Mishra reports
Rediff.com has in its possession the full Cabinet Note that was given to the members of the Cabinet ahead of the crucial meeting on Friday evening.
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.
IMD has said the temperature in April-June across most parts in India is expected to be 0.5-1 degrees Celsius warmer than normal. However, doctors and scientists say they haven't found any direct correlation between the speed of COVID-19 spread and warm weather.
Even as all eyes were focused on the high drama involving Vijaywada MP L Rajagopal, many other leaders continued their indefinite fast in support of United Andhra Pradesh at as many 49 places across coastal Andhra and Rayala Seema regions.
The Congress top brass late Thursday night assured its agitating legislators of Andhra Pradesh that "no whip" will be issued to vote in favour of a separate statehood resolution, if and when it comes in the Assembly.
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
Congress Members of Legislative Assembly from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra on Monday decided to mount pressure on Members of Parliament from the regions to quit their posts and fight against the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh that nothing will be done in haste on the creation of a separate state of Telangana, said senior party leader K S Rao.
Southwest monsoon hit Kerala on Friday marking the start of the rainy season, four days after its normal onset date.
After a making a slow progress, the southwest monsoon is expected to gain momentum and advance further into several parts of drought-hit Maharashtra and central India.
The MPs are learnt to have blamed Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for the wording and timing of his announcement on Telangana, which they said has sent the message that the Centre is agreeable to the splitting of Andhra Pradesh and that now it is just a matter of time before the new state is born.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday assured a delegation of Congress Members of Parliament from coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema regions that a decision on the Telangana issue could be taken by Tuesday.
The Kalyani Group's flagship company Bharat Forge is planning to make a big foray into the power sector with an investment of up to Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) and a targeted generation capacity of up to 10,000 MW, over the next ten years.
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.
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