YSR Congress celebrates foundation day

                                                                          

YSR Congess Party's rank and file in the Chandragiri constituency celebrated the party's Foundation Day on Monday by carrying aloft through the streets a 1,000-foot long party flag amid pro-YSR and pro-Jaganmohan Reddy slogans.

Speaking after paying homage at YSR samadhi at Idupulapaya on the first Foundation Day of the party, she recalled that her husband and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had implemented a plethora of welfare schemes without enhancing taxes in his rule. YSR brought Congress to power for a second term, but the successive Chief Ministers were neglecting the schemes launched during YSR regime, she alleged.

Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party leader and former Kadapa Mayor garlanded former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's portrait, hoisted the party flag and cut a cake in the party office.

YSR Trade Union president G.N.S. Murthy and members led a massive rally of passenger and luggage autorickshaws, mini-lorries, motorcycles and four-wheelers from Sandhya circle to YSR statue near the head post office here. YSR Congress leaders S.B. Amjad Basha, T.K. Afzal Ali Khan, Mohd. Hafeezullah and Mr. Murthy took part.

Kurnool Special Correspondent adds: The supporters of YSR Congress celebrated the party's foundation day here on Monday. Even though the main leaders of the party were away at Kovvur for taking part in the campaign along with Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the local leaders and cadres took initiative to organise celebrations.

The supporters anointed the statues of YSR at eight places in the city with milk and garlanded them.

YSR Congress completes one year

                                                                      

Hyderabad: YSR Congress president and Kadapa MP, YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday said his party would strive to usher in "value-based politics".

"We have been facing a lot of trouble over the past one year, but what kept us going is the faith people have placed in us," Jagan told partymen after hoisting the YSRC flag at the party headquarters here on the occasion of its first anniversary.

"Initially, there was discouragement from many quarters. Some of them said coming out of Congress would be suicidal.
                                                             
in a programme organised here, while other key leaders of the party celebrated the occasion in districts.

Only a handful of leaders were present here as all 16 former MLAs, who were disqualified by the Speaker earlier this month, owing allegiance to the party and another former MLA whose resignation was accepted participated in the party's first anniversary in districts.

Re-election of Jagan from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and his mother Y.S. Vijayamma from Pulivendula Assembly seat with record majority in May last has been the silver lining event in the party's small journey so far.

Inquiries by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged amassing of wealth by Jagan and probe into illegal mining and others permitted by the Congress government headed by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy have come in to haunt the party during the year.

The party is now planning to redeem its pride by winning by-elections to 17 Assembly constituencies whenever they are held. Speaking after hoisting the party flag, Jaganmohan Reddy said they would fight the by-elections for the poor and farmers.

He explained the circumstances that led to his quitting of the Congress and floating the new party.

There were times when he wondered whether he had committed political suicide by quitting Congress and floating a new party, he said. “It is not important how long I live but it is important how I live and how I help those who believed in my father and in me,” he told himself and went ahead, he said.

YSR Congress elated over apex court order

                                                            

Relief to YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the Supreme Court's order on Monday gladdened the hearts of his partymen as the Ministers too will have to account for the controversial decisions taken during the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's regime.

All this while, the Ministers had escaped liability for these decisions. Without disowning the principle of the Cabinet's collective responsibility, they had distanced themselves from some of the YSR government's decisions that favoured industrialists and individuals.

Their argument was that these decisions were taken without their knowledge. Now, they will have to spell out specifically which of the 26 deals they were kept in the dark by their Chief Minister, on the basis of minutes of Cabinet meetings and notations leading to issuance of as many Government Orders during 2007-09.

These orders relate to allotment of lands and Special Economic Zones, grant of licences and mining leases, the value of which, according to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the CBI, runs into thousands of crores. Jagati Publications, of which ‘Sakshi', a Telugu daily, has received investments of Rs.3,400 crore from various industrialists, the CBI informed the Special Court.

Neither did the government file a counter to the TDP's petition nor did the Advocate General appear in the High Court to defend the Ministers and bureaucrats, said D.A. Somayajulu, a leading member of the YSR Congress' think tank.

While the YSR Congress is chuckling over the Congress government's discomfiture, the Ministers themselves are caught in a bind on how to respond to the Apex Court's notices. If they say that the government was right in issuing the orders, then there is no illegality committed by the YSR regime and thus there was no question of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy receiving favours as a quid pro quo. On the other hand, if the GOs were illegal, all the Ministers will be called to account along with Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, of course.

On the political plane, the timing of the Supreme Court's order could not have been worse for the Congress as it is gearing up to fight by-election to seven Assembly constituencies just six days from now.

The case of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy is that the Telugu Desam Party, which petitioned the A.P. High Court alleging that he had amassed wealth illegally as a quid pro quo for favours shown by his father, the late YSR, to certain industrialists, had named several respondents, including the Chief Secretary and many top bureaucrats. However, the CBI had chosen to ignore all of them and picked on Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, the

Jagan, Naidu have no right to criticise Congress: Chiranjeevi

                                                                  

Mr. Chiranjeevi addressed several meetings on Monday during his election road shows at many villages in Indukuripeta and Buchireddypalem mandals of the Kovur Assembly segment, which is going to by-poll on March 18. His meetings evoked good response with youth and women coming in good numbers irrespective of their party affiliations.

Mr. Chiranjeevi took a dig at YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, saying that the latter had no moral right to criticise the Congress in view of the fact that it was the political platform for their family from the beginning. He asserted that the YSRCP leaders should not talk about values, as they were steeped in corruption. Referring to criticism by TDP leaders, Mr. Chiranjeevi hit back saying that the Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu began his political career with the Congress and it was surprising that he was now making baseless comments against the very ideology of the Congress

 Congress leader K. Chiranjeevi has called upon the people of Kovur Assembly segment to reject the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party saying that they are stained with politics of deception and corruption respectively.

The president of erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party has asked the voters to vote for the Congress nominee Polamreddy Srinivasulu Reddy with a good majority in tune with the expectations that rose after the merger of Praja Rajyam with the Congress.

. “What is wrong if I join the Congress? It seems a party is clean if Mr. Chandrababu stays in it. Otherwise it is bad. This kind of attitude is not correct and people will not accept this,” he added.

Mr. Chiranjeevi said that their party nominee got nearly 23,000 votes in 2009 elections and this time, this strength should combine with the Congress strength to fetch a handsome victory of the Congress candidate in the by-poll. He asserted that the welfare and development programmes being implemented by the Kiran Kumar Reddy government for farmers, women and young people would stand the party in good stead.

Congress candidate Srinivasulu Reddy was atop the campaign vehicle along with Mr. Chiranjeevi. Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, in-charge Minister Pitani Satyanarayana and others were present.

ANU Engineering College bags ISRO project

                                                                                        

The ANU College of Engineering has bagged a prestigious project to design and fabricate Satellite Choke Ring Antennas (SCRA) to receive and retransmit data from the seven satellites to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the next five years.

It is going to be a giant leap for students and faculty members of Acharya Nagarjuna University College of Engineering into fame.

The project, part of indigenously developed Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNS), of the ISRO envisions launch of seven satellites - three satellites to be placed into geostationary orbit and four satellites into geosynchronous orbit.

The ANU has bagged the project after successfully completing a project of designing of Patch Antennae.

“We are happy to bag the project, for which there has been an intense bidding, including from IITs.

We will make the best use of the opportunity by training our faculty members and students,'' said Professor Siddaiah.

The launch of the satellites would play a major role in transmitting data relating to position, navigation of oil extraction, gas extraction, and mobile communication. They could also be used for defence purpose.

“We have been asked to design and fabricate the Choke Ring Antennas (CRA). The project duration is two years and the estimated cost of the project is Rs. 27 lakh,'' Principal of ANU College of Engineering P. Siddaiah told The Hindu on Monday. Professor Siddhaiah would be heading a team comprising 10 faculty members and a few students.

Ministers campaign in Adilabad

Backward Classes Welfare Minister Basavaraj Saraiah was joined on Monday by Civil Supplies Minister D. Sridhar Babu and Major Irrigation Minister P. Sudershan Reddy in the Congress party's campaign for the March 18 by-election to Adilabad Assembly constituency. They participated in a rally taken out from the party office in town to various localities.

The Ministers also campaigned at Pochera village and Dasnapur locality.

Campaigning at Mavala village near here, the Ministers and Nirmal legislator A. Maheshwar Reddy appealed to voters to cast their votes in favour of Congress candidate C. Ramchandra Reddy.

They said the Congress had ushered in much development and grounded many welfare schemes including the Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu.

hey went on a door-to-door campaign and explained the Congress party's effort in developing the district and the State.