Kiran Reddy may float new party today

A day after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, Kiran Reddy met his supporters here to take a final call on his plans. According to leaders close to him, an announcement is likely in the evening.

After resigning as the chief minister and also from the Congress party last month to protest bifurcation of the state, Kiran Reddy held series of meetings with his loyalists to chalk out plans to form a new party.

Kiran has the support of six MPs who were expelled from the Congress party last month, and also some of his former state cabinet colleagues from Seemandhra.

The former chief minister believes that a new party would get people's support in Seemandhra as they feel the Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress all joined hands to split the state.

Earlier, there were speculations that Kiran Reddy dropped the plans to form a new party on the platform of united Andhra Pradesh as not many former ministers and legislators were ready to sail with him.

Three former ministers who were considered his supporters have already joined the TDP.

Kiran Reddy, the last chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, resigned on February 19 to protest passage of the bill in parliament for formation of a separate Telangana state.

He had defied the Congress over its decision to bifurcate the state and accused the party of resorting to unconstitutional and undemocratic measures to divide Telugu-speaking people.

(Agencies)

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Two-phase polls in undivided Andhra Pradesh

As the separate Telangana and residual state of Andhra Pradesh are to come into existence from June 2nd, the Election Commission has also decided to conduct the Assembly elections in the undivided state.

Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath said that the commission will conduct the elections as per the description of the state as of Wednesday.

Elections to 42 Lok Sabha seats and the 294-member assembly will be held in two phases - April 30th and May 7th.

In the first phase, Telangana will go to polls while voting in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra (Seemandhra) will be held on May 7th.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha and 119 Assembly constituencies, while Seemandhra has 25 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over 175 Assembly segments.

"Whoever is elected MLA as per the law will automatically become member of the concerned state," Sampath said.

According to the state chief electoral officer, 6.24 crore voters are expected to exercise their right to franchise in the elections compared to 5.78 crore voters in 2009 - an increase of about 46 lakh.

The bill for formation of Telangana as India's 29th state was passed by Parliament on February 20th.

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the bill on March 1st and on the same day the government issued a notification but did not mention the formation day of the two states.

The union home ministry on Tuesday set on June 2nd as the formation day for the two states.

The centre last week brought Andhra Pradesh under President's rule and kept the assembly under suspended animation following the resignation of Kiran Kumar Reddy as the Chief Minister protesting against the bifurcation.

The term of the state assembly ends on June 2nd.

(Agencies)

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Telangana stalemate disrupts proceedings in Andhra Assembly again

As soon as the House met for the day, they trooped into the Well of the House, and raised slogans demanding a separate Telangana state. They also raised their voices against Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for opposing the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

  
The protesting members did not pay attention to the repeated appeals made by Speaker N Manohar, who later adjourned the House.

Thursday is the last day of the Vote-On-Account Budget Session and the list of business include passage of two bills.

The issue of Telangana has been major bone of contention in the state for a long time and ever since the Centre gave its nod to the creation of a new state, the Assembly has not witnessed any major transaction of business.

Meanwhile, the Telangana Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha amid much din. Two groups of protesters clashed outside the Parliament. Since morning, unprecedented security has been in place in Parliament after a suicide threat by an MP from Seemandhra, the non-Telangana region that is vehemently opposed to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Both houses of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - were earlier adjourned till noon over the contentious issue.

(JPN/Agencies)

 

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The official machinery in Seemandhra, as the two regions are together called, came to a halt as the government offices remained closed.

Andhra Pradesh Non-Gazetted Officers' (APNGOs) Association has claimed that over 400,000 employees are participating in the strike in 13 districts.

They are demanding that the central government should not table in parliament the bill for formation of separate Telangana state as the same was rejected in both the houses of the state legislature.

Agitating employees took to streets in some parts of Seemandhra. APNGOs staged a sit-in in temple town of Tirupati and formed a human chain to protest the centre's attempts to table the bill in parliament.

The employees and over 200,000 teachers had gone on strike for nearly two months last year to protest the centre's decision to bifurcate the state.

APNGOs President Ashok Babu said the employees would stage sit-in at the residences of central ministers and MPs and at the government offices Feb 7 and 8.

The employees' body has also called for three-day shutdown in Seemandhra on February 10, 11 and 12.

It has also called for 'chalo Delhi' on February 17, 18 and 19 to mount pressure on the Central Government not to table the bill.

(Agencies)

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