Friday 11 May 2012

CBI actions may generate sympathy for Jagan

                                                          
Hyderabad: The three charge-sheets filed against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and freezing of bank accounts of his Sakshi media house could be perceived as a "political witch-hunt" in the ongoing election season in Andhra Pradesh, observers feel.

Barring a few leaders in Congress and TDP, several others are questioning the manner and motive of the CBI investigation.

And the bottom line is the "sympathy" that the whole episode could potentially generate for Jagan ahead of the by-polls to 18 Assembly constituencies.

The "timing" of the summons and the freezing of bank accounts could not be lost on the political observers.

Jagan's party, the YSR Congress, is the clear favourite in the by-elections and hence, obviously, is the prime target both for the ruling Congress and the principal opposition Telugu Desam, they say. 

The political compulsions are more for the Congress to stop Jagan's juggernaut in the by-elections, lest its government will be in peril two years ahead of its original term.

Hence, it is employing every trick in its bag to rein in Jagan and thereby his YSR Congress, the observers feel.

Jagan's rise could spell doom for the TDP in the future, as it happened in the past (2009) when the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party proved its nemesis.

Hence, the TDP too would like to see the back of Jagan

Both the parties are going ahead only with a single-point agenda of targeting Jagan personally. Aiding these parties is the ongoing media war in the state that has left the scene completely polarised. 

The prevailing scenario only exposes the Congress whose game plan could well backfire while the TDP could be caught in the crossfire.

The wave of support that Jagan (and Sakshi media) got following the freezing of bank accounts is being seen as a pointer to the things to come in the by-elections and also the political changes that it brings about.  

from zeenews 

Jagan ticks off Congress

                                                                           
The YSR Congress president, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, said that some forces in the state were conspiring to make him alone and expressed confidence that nobody can stop power of people supporting him. Mr Jagan conducted a roadshow at Rayadurgam in Anantapur district as part of byelection campaign on Thursday.
The YSR Congress president alleged that the ministers were removing plaques set up by former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and putting up new plaques with their names. Mr Jagan said that people were observing the activities of the ministers and would teach a lesson to them.
The YSR Congress president said that it was shameless on the part of state leaders, who were incapable of running the state, going to Delhi everytime and waiting for the mercy of the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
Mr Jagan alleged that the Congress leaders were colluding with the Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, and sharing illegal wealth with him by blaming YSR.
He said that there was a need to expose the CBI officials, who were murdering democracy. The YSR Congress president alleged that the Congress and the Telugu Desam were indulging in petty politics with a conspiracy that only two parties should rule the state. Mr Jagan said that golden era would come to the state under the aegis of the YSR Congress despite these conspiracies.
He said that he would strive for the welfare of the poor.
From DC

State bans ads to Sakshi paper, TV

                                                              
The state has decided to withhold government advertisements to Sakshi newspaper and TV channel owned by the YSR Congress chief and Kadapa MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The information and public relations department issued a GO in this regard on Wednesday night. The decision comes close on the heels of the Central Bureau of Investigation freezing the bank accounts of the Sakshi media house.
According to sources, the state government has released advertisements worth Rs 130 crore to Sakshi newspaper since its inception in April 2008, and about Rs 1.1 crore to the television channel. Sakshi also gets Central government advertisements through the Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity and it is not clear whether the Centre will follow the same line.
The new I&PR commissioner R.V. Chandravadan said in the order that the government has come to know of the CBI filing a chargesheet against Jagati Publications, the publishers of Sakshi, and has decided to withhold advertisements to the paper with immediate effect. Sources say advertisements worth about Rs 6 crore were being released to Sakshi every month by the YSR government. It came down to Rs 3 crore after change of guard. The revenue from Central government advertisements, for which the DAVP pays less, is about Rs 50 lakh per month. “We did not discriminate against Sakshi and issued advertisements post-YSR regime also,” a senior official said, adding that the newspaper had the second highest circulation, which the Audit Bureau of Circulation also certified.
Significantly, the government also highlighted an exemption given to Sakshi by the YSR government. Sakshi was exempted from the rule that state ads should be released only 18 months after obtaining the Registration for Newspapers for India certificate. The YSR government had defended the exemption by pointing to the fact that Vaartha and Andhra Jyothi had been exempted in a similar manner by the former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
from DC

Devineni's brother to join YSRCP

                                                            
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Krishna district received yet another jolt following reports that D. Chandrasekhar, brother TDP district president Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, is all set to join YSR Congress Party.
Coming in the backdrop of recent joining of Vangaveeti Radhakrishna in the YSRCP and TDP Urban president Vallabhaneni Vamsi shaking hands with Kadapa Member of Parliamen Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in Vijayawada, the reports created ripples in the TDP in the district. Mr. Chandrasekhar is believed to have no membership of the TDP.
The TDP district president told The Hindu : “Unable to face me politically, they (YSR Congress) wooed my brother.” Mr. Rao, in an emotional voice, said: “I am snapping all my relationship with him (Mr. Chandrasekhar).”
YSR Congress Party sources said that Mr. Chandarasekhar will join the party on May 24 at Prattipadu in Guntur district.
Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy is scheduled to visit Prattipadu. Mr. Chandrasekhar had met party senior leaders 10 days ago and received their blessings, sources added.
From HINDU

Expose YSRCP, Congress: Naidu

                                                                     
Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday exhorted party workers to expose the ‘corrupt' YSRC and the ‘inept' Congress. He called upon the party cadre to initiate a public debate by highlighting the contents of the charge sheet filed in the illegal assets case against YSRC chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and urge the people to ponder before voting.
Holding a workshop for the party workers in Ongole, where a by-election will be held along with 17 other Assembly constituencies and for one Lok Sabha seat on June 12, he alleged that “the YSRC chief has amassed wealth through illegal means during the YSR regime and patronised mafia dons like Bhanu Kiran and Pulivendula Krishna (Mangali Krishna).”
“You should reach every voter and explain to them the grave threat to democratic polity.” He said there was no governance in the State as the Congress lacked proper leadership resulting in suffering to all sections of people because of skyrocketing prices of essential commodities and heavy dose of taxes.
“I have never seen such a worst situation since Independence with so many scams, one after the other coming to the fore,” he contended.
He said, “the ruling Congress cannot shirk responsibility for the wrong-doings by the YSRC chief.”. The TDP had been exposing alleged ‘money laundering' by the late YSR even before the 2009 general election and brought out book ‘raja of corruption'.
It was wrong to project the freezing of accounts of media firms of the YSRC chief as attack on press freedom. “Can Dawood Ibrahim or Bhanu Kiran be allowed to start a daily and go scot free,” he asked.
Investors were turning away from the State faced with acute shortage of power leading to closure of small-scale units and retrenchment of employees, he said, adding Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had belied the hopes of youth after promising to create 15 lakh jobs in his rule.
Sops promised
Describing the present round of bypolls as a ‘stepping stone' for the party's victory in 2014 general election, he promised, among other things, sub-plan for BCs similar to the one for SCs, three cents of land for each poor family, Rs. 1 lakh for house construction, Rs. 1,000 unemployment dole for youth, political reservation for Minorities and socio-economic and political empowerment of women. He held roadshow along with party Ongole nominee Damacharla Janardhan and State farmers' wing president Karnam Balarama Krishnamurthy.
From HINDU

Jagan's party has no ideology: Botcha

                                                                      
Launching a scathing attack on rival parties, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Botcha Satyanarayana accused YSR Congress Party leader and Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy of making a mockery of democracy by amassing huge assets by illegal means.
“Jagan's party has no ideology of its own. He cannot clearly say for what purpose he has started the political party. His party's agenda is nothing but Congress party's welfare programmes,” said Mr. Satyanarayana.
Addressing as chief guest at the Congress workers' meeting at Kaligiri in Udayagiri assembly segment in SPS Nellore district on Thursday, Mr. Botcha Satyanarayana asserted that both Jagan and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu were bent upon continuing their politics of deception and treachery.
‘No principles'
Their parties have no principles and Jagan would pay heavily for the misdeeds he committed in the course of acquiring illegal assets, he added.
Mr. Satyanarayana sought voters' support for the candidature of T. Subbarami Reddy in Nellore Lok Sabha constituency and that of Kambham Vijayarami Reddy in Udayagiri Assembly segment. “These elections would not have come if the YSR Congress party respected the voters' verdict. Though Mekapati brothers were elected for five years' term, they resigned midway. Their irresponsibility led to this election,” the PCC president said. Stating that Mr. Subbarami Reddy had developed Visakhapatnam in a big way, Mr. Satyanarayana said that Mr. Reddy would usher in similar development in Nellore as it happened to be his native place.
Mr. Subbarami Reddy made a strong plea to the voters to stand by the Congress party, promising to do everything possible for improving their lot and addressing their concerns.
Finance Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Mr. Vijayarami Reddy, Sarvepalli MLA Adala Prabhakar Reddy and other leaders also spoke.
from HINDU