Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh on Friday demanded the Centre immediately take a decision "either way" on the contentious Telangana issue and end the uncertainty facing the state. They accused Congress of keeping Andhra Pradesh on the boil and paralyzing normal life for over a year and a half now.
The present dimensions of Andhra Pradesh politics is likely to change with over 1000 people's representatives deciding to submit their mass resignations on Tuesday after a crucial meeting of the Telangana Joint Action Committee in Hyderabad at 2 pm.
The TDP and the Congress are nervously watching the political outcome of Jagan Mohan Reddy's release, while the TRS is probably celebrating. Vicky Nanjappa tells us why
Two leading journalists' bodies on Thursday expressed shock and concern over Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's remarks threatening to "bury the media 10-km under the earth if it insults" his state.
"Mock polls" are part of the first level check (FLC) process.
The BJP has dropped C T Ravi, a leader from Karnataka, Dilip Saikia, a Lok Sabha MP from Assam, as its general secretaries, and Vinod Sonkar, Harish Dwivedi, both Lok Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh, and Sunil Deodhar as secretaries.
Addressing a poll rally at bypoll-bound Munugode Rao segment, Rao referred to the TRS MLAs case and said 'brokers' from Delhi came and attempted to bribe the MLAs by offering Rs 100 crore each.
The Congress should take the lead in resolving differences of opinion within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and show 'large-heartedness' in seat sharing to emerge as a viable alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming elections, according to some opposition leaders.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday rejected suggestions that the suspension of 13 opposition members was linked to their protests over the recent security breach and recalled that the House had displayed exemplary solidarity and collective resolve when breaches had happened in the past.
Speaking at the meeting called by the central government, Modi said India is in a better position than many other countries in terms of the ratio of the population hit by the disease but underlined the need to remain vigilant as he cited the resurgence of the infection in some countries like the UK, sources said.
The police also moved an application seeking court's permission to produce Sisodia only via video conference, after he levelled the allegation.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday dismissed reports of divisions within the ruling Congress on the emotive Telangana issue and asked everyone to wait till the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee report on the statehood issue is released on Thursday.
The 'black paper', titled '10 saal anyay kaal' also alleged that issues such as rising prices, unemployment, subversion of institutions and farmers' 'distress' had plagued the country.
Other posters, which came up on public walls at different places in the city featured leaders who joined BJP from others parties and BRS MLC K Kavitha on the other hand.
By-elections to 12 assembly seats in Telangana region on July 27 and the obvious power game in the ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh have risen the political temperature in the state.
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.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
'Violence will come when you start getting into the business of what are you doing about Hyderabad, what are you doing about protecting the investments of those who are non-Telangana in the greater Hyderabad region,' warns thinker Harsh Sethi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party seems to have learnt a bitter lesson from its past mistake of letting down the people of Telangana for the sake of the Telugu Desam Party's support to the Atal Bihari Vajpaee-led National Democratic Alliance government. This time it is refusing to do the same.
'Some false information was carried to Delhi, these negative bits seemed to have played heavily.' Union Textiles Minister KS on why he opposes the Telangana decision.
Telangana Police on Friday informed that they have arrested one person in connection with the alleged gang rape of a teenage girl in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills last week.
Political disturbance over the demand for a separate Telangana state is forcing information technology companies to shift. The process to shortlist office space in neighbouring states, like Tamil Nadu, is underway.
A day before her scheduled appearance before the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case, Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha led a hunger strike here on Friday seeking the passage of the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill in this Budget session of Parliament.
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 grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
Congress leaders from Seema-Andhra region are aghast at the Union Cabinet note which has, formally, set the process of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh and creating Telangana in motion.
Andhra Pradesh ministers hailing from Telangana, who have sent in their resignation letters to party chief Sonia Gandhi, will meet her in Delhi on Monday and seek a clear time-frame for the creation of a separate state. They have also sought an appointment from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, according to one of the 13 ministers. "We will meet Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, Defence Minister A K Antony and other senior All India Congress Committee leaders," he said.
The B N Srikrishna Committee, set up by the Centre to look into the demands for the creation of a separate Telangana, has said that so far, it has not received any official report from the ruling Congress party and main opposition Telugu Desam Party.Committee chairman Justice BN Srikrishna, who arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday to discuss the issue with various political parties, said that some leaders of the two parties had presented their own reports to the committee.
Why weren't the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana -- all of which have borders with Karnataka -- not invited to Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, asks Shyam G Menon.
A decision on the sensitive and much-delayed Telangana issue may soon come from the Centre, the Congress indicated on Monday.
Addressing a huge rally in Maharashtra's Nagpur on the occasion of the Congress' 139th foundation day, he said unemployment in the country has reached its highest point in the last 40 years.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday informed media personnel that the Centre was referring the issue of creation of a separate state of Telangana back to the Andhra Pradesh assembly to rebuild a consensus.The Andhra Pradesh assembly had passed a resolution in January last year, seeking deletion of Clause 14(F) from the Presidential Order for the purpose. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to refer back the resolution to the assembly, Chidambaram said.
According to sources, senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy is a heading a major campaign to oust Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, as a section of the party feels that the chief minister is single-handedly thwarting the formation of Telangana.
An all party-meeting to discuss legislative business in Parliament's monsoon session on Thursday saw a fierce debate on the issue of Telangana with the Bharatiya Janata Party demanding that a bill be brought on it in this session and some other parties fearing repercussions of the decision in other states.
The federal agency issued a summons to Vaibhav Gehlot (43) last week, asking him to appear before the investigating officer of the case at its headquarters on A P J Abdul Kalam Road here under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday will discuss the Telangana issue with "both options open" as a decision "cannot be postponed anymore", said senior party leader Digvijay Singh.
Kavitha has asserted that she had done nothing wrong and alleged that the BJP-led Centre was "using" the ED as the saffron party could not gain a "backdoor entry" in Telangana.
The entire process of the formation of a new state of Telangana is expected to take 5 to 6 months, say experts. The government is likely to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh until the process is completed. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Amid a controversy over a Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party leader describing tennis star Sania Mirza as a "non-local" and "daughter-in-law" of Pakistan, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said the tennis ace is a pride and brand ambassador of India.
The MLC daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao reached the ED office in central Delhi from the Tughlaq Road official residence of her father around 11.30 am and left shortly after 9.40 pm.
