Mustafa Guntur East MLA

Jagan's olive branch to Cong

HYDERABAD: Fearing that he may face the same fate as Obulapuram Mining Company owner Gali Janardhan Reddy, YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy is reported to have held out an olive branch to the Congress high command, offering to merge his party with the Congress ahead of the 2014 elections.

The formula was carried to the Congress central leaders by two MPs of the ruling UPA government on Jagan's behalf a few days ago, highlyplaced sources told STOI. "While the Congress is still to react officially to the Jagan's proposal, indications are that it is willing to consider it positively ," said the sources.

Apparently, Jagan left Hyderabad for New Delhi on November 18 in the guise of attending the winter session of Parliament. "Over the week-end , Jagan met Rohtak Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda (son of Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda ) and MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi and laid bare his truce formula. These two MPs are close to the YSR Congress chief," said the sources.

The gist of the proposal, according to the sources, is to ensure that the Congress returns to power in the 2014 elections and Rahul Gandhi is anointed Prime Minister.

"Jagan's deal is that he should not be arrested in the illegal assets case by CBI and that his party should be allowed a free run till the 2014 polls. He wants Chiranjeevi to be kept out of the state cabinet and promised to rally Reddys behind him before merging his party with the Congress ahead of the polls. He also promised Congress that he would decimate the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the state before joining the ruling party. Once the YSR Congress is merged with the Congress, Jagan expects the ruling party to give him a key role in the state politics, including the post of chief minister," said the sources.

The two MPs are said to have carried forward Jagan's formula to the Congress high command including AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad. "While there is no official reaction as yet, the fact that the induction of PRP MLAs in the state cabinet or that of Chiranjeevi at the Centre has been put off for the time being, and that the CBI is moving at a snail's pace in the illegal assets case (in contrast to its fast progress in the illegal mining case) are indications that the Congress is willing to consider Jagan's proposal," the sources said.

Naidu claims TRS, Jagan have struck poll pact

HYDERABAD: N Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Saturday claimed that YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao had arrived at a secret understanding for the upcoming bypolls in the state.

Describing as 'match-fixing' YSR Congress' decision not to contest seats in the Telangana region, Naidu alleged that KCR and Jagan had come to a secret understanding

Speaking to the media, Naidu faulted KCR and Jagan for not attending the winter session of Parliament during which the all-important Lokpal bill was discussed. "KCR is resting in his 75-acre farmhouse and Jagan is busy with his year-long Odarpu Yatra. Neither is too concerned about the rampant corruption in the country,' the TDP chief said.

Naidu said that after 'swallowing up' the Prajarajyam party, Congress was now attempting to do the same with TRS with the sole aim of weakening his party. He made it clear that TDP would continue to fight the anti-people policies of the ruling party and expose corrupt leaders. "The Telangana issue was raked up by Congress . It has to resolve it. As a political party, we announced our stand. Why is the Congress not declaring its stand and trying to resolve the issue ?" Naidu asked.

Describing the Kiran Kumar Reddy government as a 'non-performer ,' the TDP chief said that during his one-year in power, the CM had burdened the people of the state with additional taxes to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore and was getting ready to net more revenues. Naidu demanded that the state take immediate steps to provide relief to farmers who have opted for a crop holiday for nearly 80 lakh acres of agricultural land.

Meanwhile, TDP is getting ready to join Facebook with Naidu slated to launch the party's Facebook page in a week's time.

State Minority Commission may be formed soon

HYDERABAD: Under pressure from various quarters, including the National Commission for Minorities, the state government is expected to announce the formation of the State Minorities Commission soon.

According to sources, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has started holding talks within his Congress party and elsewhere on the question of the composition of the commission and selection of its chairman. The term of the last SMC ended in March 2009, a few weeks before the general election.

The then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was reportedly unhappy with SMC for outsourcing inquiry into the excesses committed by the police on the Muslim youth following the bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid, Gokul Chat Bhandar and Lumbini Park in 2007. The inquiry had indicted the police and recommended measures to compensate for the illegal detention of the youth.

Against this backdrop, after winning the elections, the chief minister did not show any hurry in forming the commission. His successor K Rosaiah followed YSR's footsteps. In the meantime the NCM wrote to the CM wherein one of its six recommendations was to establish the commission.

Meanwhile Taraq Quadri, a former member of SMC, filed a PIL in the high court in April that was taken up a few days ago. When the government pleader informed the court that the government was in the process of forming the commission, he was told to file an affidavit. Though no date has been fixed the case is expected to come up for hearing soon.

The government is keen on forming this commission with representatives from all minority communities as the previous body didn't have Parsi and Sikh representation.

Jagan case: CBI all set to grill babus

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh bureaucracy is up in arms over the move of the CBI to quiz at least 20 senior IAS officers as part of its ongoing probe into the assets of YSR Congress president and Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
CBI sources said the officers will be questioned as witnesses to ascertain their points of view on the various licences granted and other decisions taken by the state government when they were heading key departments during the tenure of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as chief minister between 2004 and 2009.

Sonia Gandhi seeks list of absentee MPs

NEW DELHI: After the embarrassment in Lok Sabha, an angry Congress President Sonia Gandhi today sought the list of party MPs who remained absent during voting on Constitution Amendment Bill on Lokpal amid moves to issue showcause notices to them.
Sources said party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who had floated the idea of granting constitutional status to Lokpal, is also furious after the bill failed to get through in the Lok Sabha yesterday because of want of requisite numbers.
According to preliminary details, 16 MPs of the UPA were absent.
Of them, six Congress MPs are from Gujarat, including Union Minister Dinsha Patel who was at home in connection with the marriage of his grand daughter.
Among others who were said to be absent were K Sudhakaran (Kerala), Hamdullah Sayeed (Lakshadweep), K Raj Gopal Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) and M Rajamohan Reddy.
Reddy is a supporter of YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy and has already submitted his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
Three MPs of DMK and two of Trinamool Congress were also absent.
The sources said Sonia Gandhi was angry and has tasked party MPs Girija Vyas and Sandeep Dikshit to prepare the list and find out the reasons for the absence.
A showcause notice would be issued to the absentee MPs, they said.
With regard to action against the absentee MPs of allies, the sources said it was for the leadership of respective parties to decide.
Patel, Minister of Mines, said he was absent from the House yesterday as he was busy with the marriage on December 26-27.
"I had written a letter to P K Bansal in this regard," he told reporters here.
He said a total of six MPs from Gujarat were absent from the House.
Patel said another of his colleague from the state could not come as his son-in-law had died in an accident.
The minister, however, said even if they were present, it would not have made any difference in the voting on constitutional amendment as the number of votes in favour of the Bill would have been only 253.

Shoba Nagi Reddy quits Assembly

HYDERABAD: Allagadda MLA and YSR Congress leader Shoba Nagi Reddy dared Prajarajyam Party MLAs to contest on Congress ticket and win the bypolls.
The firebrand legislator, who submitted her resignation from Assembly on Tuesday, said if the PRP MLAs had any moral values, they should resign forthwith and contest elections on the Congress symbol. "How can they merge with a party whose principles go against their ideology? PRP has cheated people by joining the Congress," she said.
While the PRP leaders are gunning for her disqualification for not obeying the party whip during the recent no-confidence motion against the government, Shoba pooh-poohed the existence of PRP after the Election Commission's approval for the merger. She made it clear that PRP had no right to issue whip to her as she had come out of the party rejecting the merger with Congress.
Coming down heavily on chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, the YSR Congress leader said people were watching the 'drama' played by the CM to woo Jagan loyalist legislators into Congress fold. She said people were with Jagan and that they would teach a fitting lesson to those playing double games.
As Speaker Nadendla Manohar was not in the office, Shoba submitted her resignation to the Assembly secretary. She said that her resignation was in protest against the 'anti-farmer' and anti-agriculture and labour policies adopted by the Kiran government. "We are going back to people and we would win the bypolls with a thumping majority," said Shoba.
Meanwhile, another Jagan loyalist MLA Kapu Ramachandra Reddy (Rayadurgam) said on Tuesday that he had not received any whip from the Congress to vote against the no-confidence motion.
He met the Assembly secretary to receive the notice issued by the Speaker following a complaint from the Congress seeking his disqualification for violating the whip. Another MLA Balineni Srinivasa Reddy (Ongole) also met the secretary and received the notice.
Both Ramachandra Reddy and Srinivas Reddy figured in the list of MLAs the Congress had complained against for violating the whip.