YSR had never opposed Telangana

                                                                              
HYDERABAD: Former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was never against statehood for the Telangana region, senior Congress leader R Damodar Reddy� said here on Thursday, contradicting BC welfare minister B Saraiah’s comments.

Saraiah had told a gathering in Warangal earlier in the day that he planned to a organise meeting for Telangana on being threatened by Rajasekhara Reddy.

Responding to it, Damodar Reddy recalled that it was Rajasekhara Reddy who had organised a huge meeting with 10 lakh people in 1998 for separate Telangana. He had constituted a committee with Narsa Reddy as its head and encouraged it to write a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi in 2001 demanding a separate state of Telangana.

“Rajasekhara Reddy never spoke against Telangana and always helped us,” Damodar Reddy claimed. It was not good to talk bad about him now, the former minister said.

He, however, wanted the Congress high command to instil some confidence in Telangana leaders that the region would be granted statehood sooner or later. “Setting deadlines for Telangana is not good. But, the Congress high command should instil some confidence in us,” Damodar Reddy said and added that the central government should commit to its December 9, 2009 statement.

Radha to join YSR Congress on April 27

                                                                                  
VIJAYAWADA: Ending the speculation and suspense, former MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna has declared that he will join YSR Congress on April 27 in the presence of party chief and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy.

Addressing a press conference at a hotel here on Thursday, Radhakrishna said he would be joining the YSRCP since his family was neglected by the Congress. “My father and our family were not shown any respect by the Congress though my father strengthened the party. Not even his photograph can be found in Gandhi Bhavan. It shows how much respect is given to a leader who toiled for the party and won many seats for it,” he said.

Recently, Ranga Radha Mitra Mandali, an association of the followers of Ranga family, has announced that its leader will be joing Jagan’s party. Radha, who was elected to the Assembly for the first tme in 2004 from Vijayawada East on Congress ticket, contested the subsequent election 2009 on Praja Rajyam ticket but lost the election. Though he had been in the PRP till the party’s with the Congress, he remained more or less politically inactive. After the merger he did not take membership of the Congress because of his differences with ruling party leaders.

For Jagan, Radha fits the bill as he is a strong Kapu leader in the coastal districts. With byelections not far off, he is expected to woo Kapu voters in Guntur and W Godavari where the community’s votes are crucial for any party to win. Radhakrishna’s father, the late Vangaveeti Mohanaranga Rao held sway over the Kapu community not only in the coastal districts but also elsewhere in the state, and his family is still revered by people.

Radhakrishna is holding talks with some former� corporators, who had sailed with him when he was in the Congress, to take them into the YSR Congress.

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Minister Saraiah targets YSR

                                                                                       

BC Welfare Minister Baswaraj Saraiah's created ripples in political circles in the State when he pointed a finger at the late Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy for adopting an ‘anti-Telangana' stand at a Prajapatham programme here on Thursday.

The Minister responding to protests by TRS students wing activists that the Telangana Congress leaders were doing nothing while scores of youth were committing suicides for the cause, said they did enough in the past and were still putting efforts towards securing separate statehood to the region.

“When we the Congress leaders tried to organise a meeting on separate Telangana, the then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy threatened us over telephone. But, we did not fear,” he said.

Mr. Saraiah revealed that since he was associated actively with the separate Telangana movement, he was denied a Cabinet berth by Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy during first and second term. However, he said he never compromised on the issue despite differences with the party leadership.

Scores of TRS students wing leaders staged a protest at the meeting at Rangasaipet area in Warangal town. When the police let in a group of students, they questioned the Minister. They sought to know why the government was not withdrawing the cases booked against the students who took part in separate Telangana movement and what were the Telangana Congress leaders doing when the party leadership went back on its separate State promise?

Later, a group of Left party workers too tried to gherao the Minister seeking adequate drinking water, roads and complaining about the spiralling prices.

District collector Rahul Bojja said efforts were being made to solve the drinking water problems.

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Confront Congress rebels, Vayalar Ravi tells people

                                                                              

Launching a scathing attack on YSR Congress Party, AICC emissary Vayalar Ravi on Thursday asked people to confront rebel Congress MLAs, who were disqualified.

Mr. Ravi arrived here on Thursday here on a day long visit to interact with the party cadres. He addressed party workers in Koyyalagudem in Polavaram constituency in West Godavari district and later interacted with the cadres in Ramanchandrapuram constituency in East Godavari district, which will witness by-polls shortly. His visit to the Godavari districts is aimed at assessing ground realities and the party's prospects in the bye-elections.

At the two places, he addressed well attending party workers meetings and attempted to drive home the fact that by-polls had been forced on the people by ‘selfish interests' of a few individuals. Without naming Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the AICC emissary said some leaders left the Congress after they were denied chance of becoming the Chief Minister and their supporters quit as MLAs.

“You ask your local MLA who was disqualified and why these polls have been forced on them and question the need to resign ignoring people's issues,” he said. He said it was not a child's play to resign and face by-polls frequently. He noted that leaders like Indira Gandhi were still in the hearts of people and pointed out that when he visited an SC Colony (Gandhi Nagar), old women recalled the former Prime Minister and promised to vote for the Congress again. “People will not accept leaders, who start parties to become Chief Minister,” he added.

Power tariff hike

PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana said that power tariff hike would not affect the common man and the government was forced to increase the tariff in a peculiar situation. He criticised Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy for indulging in mudslinging and writing objectionable news in the newspaper owned by him.

A few minutes before Mr. Ravi's speech, MRPS workers raised slogans demanding categorisation. Ministers – Pithani Satyanarayana, Thota Narasimham, Pinipe Viswaroop and Ramachandrapuram candidate Thota Trimurthulu and Amalapuram MP G.V.Harsha Kumar spoke. Earlier at Koyyalagudem, Miinister Vatti Vasant Kumar and Eluru MP K.S. Rao participated.

Mr. Ravi will return to the city on Friday to address Congress leaders from Guntur and Anantapur districts where two constituencies each will go to polls shortly. 

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