Maoists shock to TRS

Telangana issue once again hit the headlines of all the Telugu dailies on Monday: this time, it is warning from Maoists to Telangana Rashtra Samithi not to go for an alliance with Maha Kootami.

The report was carried very prominently by all the three dailies Eenadu, Andhra Jyothi and Sakshi. It states that Maoist spokesman Sudershan wrote a letter to TRS legislator Harish Rao, stating that the party, under any circumstances, should not join Maha Kootami because Telugu Desam could not be relied upon for granting Telangana State. An alliance with Maha Kootami is nothing but burying the Telangana issue down in the earth. Eenadu presented the report in a diplomatic manner, saying Maoists advised TRS to maintain equal distance from both TD and the Congress, while Sakshi quoted Maoists as advising TRS not to fall in the trap of treacherous TD. All the dailies reported that Maoists' letter caused internal turmoil in the TRS.

The banner stories of the three dailies, however, are different. Eenadu's banner story – Maha Dopidi (Great Robbery) is an exclusive report on the State government's attempt to hand over 830 acres of prime land worth Rs 6,640 crore all along Musi river in the city to a private firm Sun City in the name of beautification of Musi area under public-private partnership. The report says farmers holding the land along the Musi river are being threatened by the land mafia to vacate for the project and the government, which initially promised to give the farmers a 20 per cent share in the project, is now trying to forcibly acquire the land by paying nominal compensation. The report went on to say that a political leader from Delhi and some State leaders are lobbying for commencing the project before the elections.

Sakshi's banner story is CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury's press conference, in which he said Telangana was not in the agenda of his party. The story, which is obviously meant to embarrass the TRS and TD leaderships and scuttle the chances of formation of Maha Kootami, has quoted Yechury as saying that his party was still committed to One-State-for-one-language speaking people policy and that if Telangana was given, there would be demand for 22 other States. The proposed alliance with TRS and TD was only meant for pulling down the Congress government in the State, Yechury said.

Get out of Maha Kootami? will TRS????

According to the latest reports, Telangana Rashtra Samithi is understood to have decided to get out of Maha Kootami, much before it is officially formed.

TRS State executive, which met here on Thursday under the leadership of party president K Chandrasekhara Rao, is learnt to have decided not to compromise on the number of Lok Sabha seats to be shared with other members of Maha Kootami. "Under any circumstances, let us not accept less than 10 Lok Sabha seats. If we can't get them, it is better we stay away from Maha Kootami and decide on our own way," KCR reportedly told the party leaders.

The TRS president is also angry with the way the Left parties are taking Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu for a ride and forcing him to be tough with TRS on seat sharing. Though CPI State secretary K Narayana tried to blame it on the media, KCR reportedly told the negotiators that irrespective of the media reports, there was no compromise on the number of LS seats.

Now, TD is in trouble. If it gives 10 seats to TRS and two each to CPI and CPI-M, it would be left with just three seats in Telangana. It creates a lot of unrest among the party cadres, which ultimately reflects on the party's prospects in the Assembly. So, it is a devil and the deep sea situation for Naidu!

NTR Vardanthi pictures 2009

Good beginning for Pavan Kalyan

Going by the strong belief among the people of Telangana region, Praja Rajyam Party's youth leader Pavan Kalyan has made an auspicious beginning of his whirl wind political tour.

Before commencing his yatra in Karimnagar district, Pavan had a darshan of Kondagattu Hanuman at the famous temple near Jagitial.

According to a local belief, any political leader who kicked off his tour from Kondagattu after taking the blessings of Lord Hanuman, achieved tremendous success. As expected, he received massive response from the people and whenever he came down heavily on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, a strong party in the district, there was loud cheers from the crowds.

Pavan believes that Lord Hanuman, being the favourite god of Chiranjeevi, would bestow him with power. But, why didn't Chiranjeevi do it is still a million dollars question.

3.30 woke up wah re wha!!!!

Surprising as it might sound, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao will wake up at "Brahmi Muhurtham" on Wednesday.

KCR's purohits told him that he should come to Telangana Bhavan along with his wife and other family members at any cost by 4 am to kick start the Vishwa Santi Mahayagnam on the premises of TRS office. Which means, he has to get up at 3.30 am and get ready for the yagam. More than 100 vedic pundits are participating in the Maha Yagam, which is primarily aimed at establishing peace and order in the world, but is essentially meant for the success of TRS in general and KCR in particular in the next elections.

It is rather a pleasant surprise for the party workers to see KCR in the early hours, which is of course a rare scene. Normally, KCR goes to sleep at that time and wakes up not before 11 am. Let us hope, at least from now, KCR will learn to get up early and go into the people with fresh mind, rather than in a drunken state!

KCR secret enquires on Cong Plan!!!

It appears Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao's body is in Maha Kootami, but the soul is still with the Congress party. New Delhi sources say KCR still nurtures some hopes on the positive decision likely to be taken by the Congress party on Telangana demand. He spent the whole Sunday calling media persons in Delhi to find out what was happening in the Congress camp. He also made secret inquiries about what had transpired between Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Pranab Mukherjee on the Telangana issue. In fact, KCR reportedly told one of the media persons that he was not wholeheartedly in favour of joining hands with Telugu Desam, but was compelled to take the decision only because the Congress high command was succumbing to YSR's pressure tactics. He sought media persons's advice as to whether there was still a possibility of restoring ties with the UPA. Do it KCR, then see how people will spit at your face for changing colours so frequently!

YSR says no decision on Telangana before polls

At last, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's word prevailed before AICC president Sonia Gandhi on the crucial Telangana issue.

After meeting Sonia, a jubilant YSR told mediapersons that no decision had been taken on Telangana, since the high command had to hold further consultations with many other sections concerned with the issue. "The Congress high command might take a decision before the next elections," he said.

The Chief Minister also ruled out the possibility of passing a resolution in the State Assembly in favour of Telangana. "When we have left it to the high command, there is no need for the State Assembly to adopt a resolution. We have only discussed the election strategies with the Madam," he said.