Panicky Rosaiah on backfoot as YSR birthday fete turns ‘official’

Independent Media

Panicky Rosaiah on backfoot as YSR birthday fete turns ‘official’ Even Dist Collectors Told To Conduct Celebrations In A Big Way IT’S OFFICIAL:  Dancers perfom at a function organised on the occasion of 61st birthday celebrations of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy at Ravindra Bharathi in the city on Thursday Hyderabad/Vijayawada: Amidst heightened political tensions, the state government celebrated late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s 61st birth anniversary celebrations on Thursday. The official purpose was to take away the thunder from Jagan’s Odarpu yatra in Srikakulam, which attracted big crowds. To encash the YSR sentiment, the government hurriedly asked the district administrations to organise the birth anniversary celebrations as an official programme. Curiously, no other late CM was accorded such a privilege in districts though there is a practice of incumbent CM and his cabinet colleagues paying tributes in the state capital.  While chief minister K Rosaiah unveiled a life-size portrait of YSR in the main lobby of the state Assembly and offered floral tributes along with ministers, MLAs and MLCs, the TDP stayed away from the event. TDP deputy leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu raised objection to the installation of YSR’s portrait in the Assembly lobby saying it was unprecedented.  “Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and P V Narasimha Rao who served as CMs went on to become the president and the prime minister respectively. Even their portraits were not installed in the Assembly,” he pointed out. Well, the Congressgovernment knows it could illafford to overlook the mounting sympathy for YSR family in the aftermath of controversies surrounding Jagan’s yatra. Hence, the “official” tag for YSR’s birth anniversary.  N T Ramarao, the first non-Congress CM who served the state for over seven years, was not given such a treatment by successive Congress governments. Only, TDP leaders and family members go to NTR Ghat to pay tributes to the charismatic leader. Recently, the birth anniversary of PV Narasimha Rao was celebrated in Hyderabad and nowhere the fete was organised, including his home district of Karimnagar.  While the birth anniversaries of first PM Jawaharlal Nehru and longest-served PM Indira Gandhi are observed by the education department, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi is confined to Congress party offices only.  “We get instructions on the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Babu Jagjivan Ram to conduct them as official programmes. On Thursday, YSR birth anniversary fete was conducted as an official programme,” explained a district collector.  While the district administration in Prakasam pays tributes to the late CM Prakasam Panthulu in his home district, there is no evidence of such events being organised for Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy in Anantapur, Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy in Kurnool or for remembering Kasu Bramhananda Reddy in Guntur and NTR in Krishna districts. “Even if such events are organised, such programmes are confined to a formal garlanding of the statue or a portrait. But certainly not as a large event as organised in memory of YSR,” a senior official said.  Krishna district in-charge collector Gaurav Uppal, who personally reviewed the arrangements, had directed the district educational officer to issue instructions to all the headmasters of the schools to organise essay-writing, painting and elocution competitions and present certificates to the winners.  In Guntur, district collector B Ramanjaneyulu insisted that all the officials be present for the birthday celebrations. “It seems it’s purely a political decision keeping in view of Jagan’s attempt to take away the legacy of his father from the Congress party fold,” said a to official in Nellore.

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CBI names four of Hindu group for Macca Masjid blast

June 10: The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a memo in the 14th additional chief metropolitan magistrate court at Nampally on Thursday seeking the arrest of four activists of a Hindu terror group for triggering the Mecca Masjid blast.




In all, five persons were killed in the blast that took place on May 18, 2007. Following this, the court issued prisoners transit warrant for Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma and ordered the CBI to produce them. They are now in Ajmer jail in connection with Ajmer Darga blast and are likely to be brought to the city on Monday.



The CBI alleged that these two accused conspired to carry out the explosion in Mecca Masjid and aided the others.



They also purchased SIM cards and mobile phone devices which were e used in the bomb placed in the masjid. Devender used a fake driving license to buy the SIM cards.



The CBI has established the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer blasts were part of single conspiracy. According to the CBI prosecutor, the bombs used in the blast were made by Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kaslangara alias Ramji Kaslangara.



The two bomb experts come to the city two months ahead of the blast and stayed here. The CBI thinks they made the bombs using RDX and planted two of them Mecca Masjid and two in Ajmer.



Sandeep and Ramchandra are absconding and a manhunt is on to nab them. The CBI is also looking into the role of Swami Ashimanand in the case.

osaiah defends KCR arrest

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Sunday night justified the arrest of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, ahead of his fast-unto-death demanding separate Telangana, saying it is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order.

"His (Chandrasekhar Rao) speeches and the language he is using over the last one week are not correct. We have the responsibility to maintain law and order. We waited patiently. We had to take this action only to ensure that the situation does not go out of control. In a way, this is like a preventive arrest," Mr Rosaiah said.

The way the TRS chief prepared for the fast and the tense atmosphere that built up warranted the arrest, he said.

Maintaining that Congress is not opposed to the formation of separate Telangana, he said the TRS should wait for the Congress high command to take a decision.

"Before 2004 elections, Congress and TRS had reached an understanding and entrusted the responsibility of solving the issue with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Rao agreed for that. Congress high command is thinking on the matter. They have appointed a committee and trying for consensus. While that process is on, it is not fair to resort to extreme action.

"It is not easy for the Centre to take quick decisions on division of a state. They have to take into consideration various issues. So we cannot find fault with anyone over the delay in taking a decision at the Central level. The process of consultation is on," he said.