Tag: Ladakh News

Telangana: It’s a do-or-die battle for a demoralised, divided Congress

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Hyderabad: When the Congress-led Central government bifurcated Andhra Pradesh in 2014, it was hoping to reap the political benefit of the move in the newly created Telangana but nearly a decade later, the party’s position appears to have gone from bad to worse.
Series of defections after 2014 and 2018 elections, humiliating defeat in by-elections and infighting has left the grand old party demoralised in its former strongholds.
With Assembly elections a few months away, the party appears to be in a disarray with BJP seeming to have occupied the space as principal contestant for ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Despite the defeats in two Assembly elections even after claiming credit for carving out Telangana, the Congress party failed to learn the lessons and remains a divided house. Repeated interventions and warnings by the party’s central leadership also failed to set the house in order.
In both 2014 and 2018, the Congress was at least the main rival for BRS but this time the party will be facing the polls even without this status.
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and his earlier visit to the state and his advice to the party leaders to remain united failed to yield the desired results.
The recent revolt by a group of senior party leaders against state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy has come as the latest setback for the party even as he was trying to revive party’s fortunes by taking up people’s issues.
The BJP’s emergence as the strong opponent to BRS has pushed the Congress to the third place.

Political observers point out that the Congress is not visible in the mainstream media or even the social media. It’s either BRS or BJP. “The BJP has succeeded in building a narrative of BRS versus BJP as such a narrative suits them,” said observer Palwai Raghavendra Reddy
Series of defections, a string of defeats in by-elections, disastrous performance in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections and continued infighting have weakened the party.
The resignation of sitting MLA from Munugode constituency Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and his defection to BJP to force by-election late last year dealt another blow to the Congress. It faced more embarrassment with its candidate finishing a poor third and forfeiting the deposit.
This was not all. Rajagopal Reddy’s brother and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, the star campaigner of Congress party, stayed away from campaigning for Munugode. A video clip of Venkat Reddy predicting Congress party’s defeat during the campaigning left the party leaders red faced.
After dividing Andhra Pradesh by granting statehood to Telangana in 2014, the Congress was hoping to reap the political dividend by claiming credit for carving out the separate state.
However, K. Chandrasekhar Rao dashed its hopes by rejecting the proposal to merge his party with Congress. He decided to maintain the identity of TRS (now BRS) as a political party.
In 2014, the Congress party could win 22 seats in 119-member Telangana Assembly and was completely wiped out in Andhra Pradesh due to the public anger over bifurcation. In Telangana, several party leaders including legislators defected to TRS.
In 2018, Congress faced another disaster. It could win just 19 seats, though it had forged an electoral alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Left parties and some smaller parties.
Even before Congress could gear up for Lok Sabha elections in 2019, it had lost as many as 12 MLAs to the ruling party. Though the party salvaged some pride by winning three Lok Sabha seats, with the reduced strength in Assembly, it lost the status of main opposition to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a friendly party of TRS.
The party suffered a huge embarrassment a few months after Lok Sabha as it failed to retain Huzurnagar Assembly seat, where by-election was necessitated with the resignation of Uttam Kumar Reddy following his election to Lok Sabha.
The BJP wrested the Dubbak Assembly seat from the TRS in 2020 by-election to consolidate itself. The saffron party, which hardly had any presence in the constituency, pushed Congress party to third position.
The Congress suffered another humiliation the same year as it could win just two seats in 150-member Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Owning moral responsibility for the defeat, Uttam Kumar Reddy resigned as the party chief.
The Congress party was pinning its hopes on by-election to Nagarjuna Sagar to revive its fortunes in the state. Its senior leader and former minister K. Jana Reddy lost the contest by over 18,000 votes to TRS candidate.
The appointment of Revanth Reddy as the new state president by the central leadership in 2021 after ignoring several seniors and strong contenders triggered open revolt by a section of leaders, who saw Revanth as an outsider as he had defected to Congress from TDP just before 2018 elections.
The change of guard also could not bring any change in the party’s fortunes. Several seniors started openly attacking Revanth Reddy for sidelining them.
In Huzurabad by-election held towards end of 2021, the Congress party’s performance was disastrous. Its candidate secured only 3,012 votes and lost the deposit. It was a big slump for the party, which had secured 47,803 votes in 2018 to finish runners-up.
The continuing slide raised new questions on the leadership of Revanth Reddy, whose style of functioning also irked some seniors. Recently when he packed the party panels with his loyalists, the senior raised a banner of revolt and launched a movement to save the party. They called it a fight between real Congress leaders and migrants from other parties.
The allegation by seniors that AICC in-charge Manickam Tagore is siding with Revanth Reddy forced the central leadership to intervene and replace him with Manikrao Thakare.
The new in charge last began his efforts to put the house in order. It will be an acid test for Manikrao.
Political observer Raghavendra Reddy believes that this will be the final opportunity for Congress in Telangana. “If the Congress fails to win big numbers, it will be the end of the road for the party. The Congress party’s record across states show that it never made a comeback after losing the status of opposition,” he said citing the instances of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
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#Telangana #doordie #battle #demoralised #divided #Congress
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Rahul Gandhi unfurls national flag at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk

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Srinagar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the historic clock tower of Lal Chowk here as part of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, amid stringent security measures usually reserved for a prime ministerial visit.
Taking a 30-minute break from the Kanyakumari to Kashmir foot march at Sonawar, Gandhi drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as ‘Ghanta Ghar’, to unfurl the tricolour.
Gandhi was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for the flag hoisting.
The security for the 10-minute event was at its peak as all roads leading to Lal Chowk had been sealed off from Saturday night and no vehicular movement was allowed.
Shops, business establishments and the weekly flea market were closed as part of the security drill for the flag unfurling by the former Congress president.
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#Rahul #Gandhi #unfurls #national #flag #Srinagars #Lal #Chowk

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Rijiju faces fierce criticism by ex-SC judges on collegium system remarks

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New Delhi: The Centre and the judiciary friction over the collegium system for appointment of judges seems to be far from over, as former Supreme Court judges have vehemently criticized Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for his comments against the collegium system.
Fierce criticism by the judges has not deterred Rijiju from voicing out his opinion on the collegium system and recently in a media interaction, he said the Supreme Court collegium publishing inputs of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and intelligence bureau (IB) on candidates recommended by the collegium for judgeship, is a matter of grave concern.
In an interview to a news channel, Rijiju said the appointment of judges is a sensitive issue, which we cannot discuss on public platforms and emphasized that he cannot discuss the process, but can say, the government takes its considered decision carefully and follows a policy.
Former Supreme Court judge justice Rohinton Nariman, at a public event, slammed the Law Minister for his “diatribe” against the collegium system for appointment of judges.
Justice Nariman said, “This sitting on names is a very deadly thing against the democracy of this country. Because what you are merely doing is you are waiting for a particular collegium and hoping that the next collegium changes its mind…” Justice Nariman was part of the Supreme Court collegium till he retired in August 2021.
Similarly, former Supreme Court judge justice Madan B. Lokur, in an interview to a news website earlier this month, said the justification given by the law minister for his suggestions — that 2015 apex court judgment “directed to restructure the Memorandum of Procedure of the collegium system” — is “flawed”.
Justice Lokur, who was also a former member of the Supreme Court collegium, called the law minister’s suggestions “unacceptable” and, if implemented, would “damage and undermine the independence of the judiciary”.
Similarly, Justice Nariman had also emphasized what would be the independence of judiciary if judges, who are fearless and independent are not being appointed. He said, “If you don’t have fearless and independent judges, say goodbye…There is nothing left…As a matter of fact, according to me if finally, this last bastion falls or was to fall we would enter the abyss of a new dark age”.

In December last year, a Supreme Court bench of three-judges headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising justices Abhay S. Oka and Vikram Nath told the Attorney General R Venkataramani that just because there are some sections of the society who express a view against the collegium system, it will not cease to be the law of the land.
The top court had also deplored Centre sitting on files of candidates recommended by the collegium for judgeship. And, on January 6, the Supreme Court told the Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani elevation of lawyers, picked up by the collegium for appointment as judges, should not be objected merely due to their point of view, and a court must reflect different philosophies and points of view.
The Law Minister, in the interview, said that when it was said from the Supreme Court bench that the government is sitting on files, then, in a democracy, it becomes necessary for him to reply. He stressed that the government does not sit on files normally, rather it follows the process as required.
The apex court collegium published resolutions reiterating names of some advocates for judgeship in various high courts. The apex court cited inputs by RAW and IB on candidates, whose files were returned by the Centre to the collegium for reconsideration.
In a statement, in connection with appointment of openly gay lawyer Saurabh Kripal as a judge of the Delhi High Court, the collegium said, “From the letters of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) dated 11 April 2019 and 18 March 2021, it appears that there are two objections to the recommendation which was made by the collegium of this court on 11 November 2021 approving the name of Saurabh Kirpal namely: (i) the partner of Saurabh Kirpal is a Swiss National, and (ii) he is in an intimate relationship and is open about his sexual orientation.”
Reiterating Kripal’s name, the collegium said there is no reason to pre-suppose that the partner of the candidate, who is a Swiss National, would be inimically disposed to our country, since the country of his origin is a friendly nation.
“Many persons in high positions, including present and past holders of constitutional offices, have and have had spouses who are foreign nationals,” the collegium added.
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#Rijiju #faces #fierce #criticism #exSC #judges #collegium #system #remarks
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Long queues at petrol pumps across Pakistan

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Islamabad: Rumours of a massive hike in petrol prices resulted in long queues at petrol pumps in many parts of Pakistan, local media reported.
According to reports being shared on social media, the prices of petrol and diesel are expected to go up by anywhere between Rs 45 to Rs 80 on February 1.
“We saw a report on social media that oil prices will go up due to the surge in the dollar’s value and international petroleum rates,” Hassan, who queued at a petrol pump said, Dawn reported.
According to media reports, a similar situation was experienced in other areas. Petrol was available at only 20 per cent of the pumps in Gujranwala, while severe shortages were also reported in Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot and Faisalabad, Geo News said.
However, an official told Dawn the rumours were unfounded and urged people to not take them seriously. He said a summary for a price revision for the next two weeks has not yet been prepared by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
“Under the ongoing mechanism a summary by OGRA is forwarded to the petroleum division which sends it to the finance ministry,” he said, adding the summary is forwarded on the day when price revisions are due.
He said if the impact of rupee devaluation and international oil prices is accounted for, it will be reflected in the calculations for fortnight starting from February 15.

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#Long #queues #petrol #pumps #Pakistan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Riding on ‘Telangana model’, TRS eyes hat-trick but challenges remain

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Hyderabad: Two decades after it was floated by K Chandrasekhar Rao to revive the Telangana movement, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) turned a new chapter last month by being renamed the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Projecting the Telangana model of development before the country, BRS is looking to expand to other states.
KCR has succeeded in making the country take note of the Telangana model and is now pitching an alternate agenda before the nation.
Aiming to play a key role in national politics, KCR looks to expand the party’s base to other states. In less than a month, BRS managed to attract a few leaders from other parties in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
While the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be the target of the BRS, its immediate goal will be to retain power in its stronghold Telangana.
Political observers believe that the emergence of the BJP as a key force with two wins in Assembly by-elections has put pressure on the BRS.
According to K. Nageshwar, after the BJP’s victory in two Assembly by-elections (Dubbak in 2020 and Huzurabad in 2021) and its good show in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the BRS is under pressure.
“Because the Congress was weakening, BRS thought it would have no opposition. Interestingly enough, they got a new opponent and a strong opponent in the form of the BJP,” said Nageshwar.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, succeeded in claiming credit for achieving the goal of a separate state by winning the public mandate in 2014. In the elections held just before formal bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, TRS won 63 seats in the 119-member Telangana Assembly.
KCR consolidated the party by attracting leaders and legislators to the TRS. Though the TRS won a huge mandate by bagging 88 seats in 2018, KCR made about a dozen MLAs from the Congress to defect to the TRS. A few legislators from other parties also switched loyalties to take the TRS tally to a whopping 103. He virtually decimated the Congress party but political observers believe that by doing so KCR indirectly helped the BJP to occupy that space.
However, unfazed by the BJP gaining strength, KCR is confident that the BRS will win the next elections hands down. The chief minister said all the surveys he had commissioned gave a favourable report about the BRS. “In the December 2018 elections, our party won 88 assembly seats. This time, the number will go up to 95. We are going to come back to power for the third consecutive time,” he told a meeting of party leaders recently.
His son and BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao believes that KCR will become South India’s first chief minister to assume the post for the third consecutive time.
The TRS in recent months witnessed infighting in some districts. Rama Rao, however, downplayed the infighting between the party leaders terming it as an indication of strong leadership and people’s acceptance of the party.
KTR believes that none of the Opposition parties are strong enough to compete with TRS in all the constituencies. “Neither the Congress nor the BJP has a strong presence in most of the constituencies. Hence, it is not sensible to name one of them as our main opponent,” he said in a recent media interaction.
Despite the bravado displayed by the BRS leaders, challenges remain for the party. The opposition parties are mounting an attack over the promises it failed to keep.
Family rule, corruption and the state’s huge debt burden are the issues being raised by the BJP and other opposition parties.
An alliance among like-minded opposition parties may add to the problems for KCR and his party. With elections still 10-11 months away, new political formations and permutations may make the poll scenario in Telangana more complex.
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#Riding #Telangana #model #TRS #eyes #hattrick #challenges #remain
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
With Gamang joining the party, can BRS dent Odisha’s Fortress Patnaik?

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Bhubaneswar: With several Odisha leaders, including former chief minister Giridhar Gamang, ex-MP Jayram Pangi and farmers’ leader Akshay Kumar, joining KCR’s Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), which is eyeing to expand its party base, political atmosphere has charged up in the state.
However, whether the entry of BRS into Odisha will change its political landscape remains to be seen as the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is an unbeatable political force in the state since past 23 years.
Defeating the Congress, the BJD formed the government in the state in alliance with the BJP in 2000. However, in 2009, the BJD ditched the BJP and formed a government on its own. In the past decade, the regional party has defeated two big national parties the Congress and the BJP.
While the Congress is becoming weak in one after another election, the BJP has also failed to perform as a strong opponent to the regional party in past panchayat, urban and Assembly elections.
In past also, many political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Left parties tried to enter Odisha politics, but in vain.
Only the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) managed to win four Assembly seats in 2009 when it entered into an alliance with the BJD.
Besides, many of the political leaders, who have recently joined the BRS, were not very much involved in active politics. And, the non-political leaders have not tried their luck in Odisha politics till now.
New inductees in BRS from Odisha claimed that many leaders from different parties in the state are contacting to join them, whereas the ruling BJD and BJP have said that KCR’s party will not have any impact.

Commenting on this, senior BJD leader and Puri MP Pinaki Misra said, “The BRS has taken the leaders from BJP. As per my opinion, the vote bank of Giridhar Gamang will be diverted to BRS from BJP. It will not have any impact on the BJD’s vote bank.”
“Nobody can match the USP of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The BSP may be able to gain a very few thousands of votes in its peripheral areas and that too in two or three districts,” said the BJD leader.
Similarly, BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said, “In the past also, Odisha had witnessed several such parties. But all disappeared at a later stage. So, here the fight is between BJP and BJD.”
“The BJP is fighting on development agenda while the BJD is fighting with its face Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,” the BJP leader said.
According to local political analyst Rabi Das, the BRS may be able to put some impact on southern Odisha, especially Telugu-speaking border constituencies.
“Many schemes of KCR in Telangana are better than those in Odisha. Odisha’s Kalia scheme has come from their state. Telangana is providing more money as old age pension then Odisha,” Das said.
“The leaders who were searching for a party which is financially sound, for them, BRS is the best option. So, such leaders will definitely jump into the BRS,” he added.
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#Gamang #joining #party #BRS #dent #Odishas #Fortress #Patnaik
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Owaisi’s AIMIM looks invincible in its old Hyderabad strongholds

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Hyderabad: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) looks to continue its sway in the seven Assembly seats it currently holds in the Telangana Assembly.
Going by the past record and the voting, the party appears to be invincible in the Muslim-majority constituencies covering the old city of Hyderabad.
Like in the past, AIMIM began its campaign ahead of others. For the last few days, party President Asaduddin Owaisi has been addressing public meetings with the title ‘Jalsa-e-Halat-e-Hazera’ or meeting on current affairs to build the tempo.
He appealed to the people to remain united and protect the political platform so that the AIMIM continued to raise their voice in the legislature and fight to resolve their problems.
Owaisi is confident that the BJP will never be able to come to power in Telangana. “Our Hindu brothers from the Dalit community and backward classes want peace and communal harmony to prevail in Telangana,” he said while addressing one such meeting.
Such has been the domination of the AIMIM in Hyderabad politics for over four decades that its stronghold remained immune to the political waves and change of guard in the state.
It’s often said that all political waves stop at Nayapul, one of the bridges across the Musi river which connects old Hyderabad to the rest of the city.
No matter which party came to power in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, the support base of Owaisi’s party remained intact.

There has been no change after Telangana was carved out as a separate state in 2014. Despite the reservations the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party had over the division of Andhra Pradesh, the party adapted itself to the new political scenario dominated by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which recently rechristened itself as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
While maintaining its firm grip over the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency and the seven Muslim majority Assembly segments in the city, the AIMIM backed the TRS in the rest of the state in both the 2014 and 2019 elections.
This friendship and the secular image of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao helped the TRS in securing the support of the Muslims, who constitute about 12 per cent of the state’s 4 crore population.
With a huge concentration of Muslim voters in state capital Hyderabad and some other districts, they are in a position to tilt the balance in nearly half of the 119 Assembly constituencies.
Muslim voters are believed to be between 35 and 60 per cent in 10 constituencies in Hyderabad and anywhere between 10 to 40 per cent in 50 other constituencies spread across the rest of the state.
Except the eight Assembly constituencies where AIMIM candidates were in the fray, the party backed TRS in all the remaining constituencies.
While the AIMIM’s political opponents accuse the party of pursuing communal politics, KCR on many occasions defended his friend and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. He lauded the AIMIM chief for fighting for the Constitutional rights of Muslims in a democratic manner.
The BJP, which is going aggressive to capture power in Telangana, has been targeting KCR for his friendship with Owaisi and accusing the TRS leader of pursuing the politics of appeasement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and other central leaders of the BJP have slammed KCR for appeasement. Digging up the past, the state leadership of the saffron party has been launching bitter attacks on the AIMIM, calling it a party of ‘razakars’.
‘Razakars’ were the volunteers or supporters of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), the party which backed the Nizam who wanted to keep Hyderabad State independent after India gained independence in 1947.
Thirteen months after India’s independence, Hyderabad State acceded to the Indian Union following India’s military action codenamed ‘Operation Polo’.
The MIM was founded in 1927 to promote the socio-economic and educational development of Muslims. After ‘Operation Polo’ hastened the accession of Hyderabad State to the Indian Union in 1948, the MIM was banned.
However, in 1958 it was revived with a new constitution by Moulana Abdul Wahid Owaisi, grandfather of Asaduddin Owaisi. Abdul Wahid Owaisi, a lawyer, converted it into a political party to fight for the rights of the minorities as enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
“Razakars have gone. Those who love the country remained here,” says Asaduddin Owaisi in response to the BJP’s taunt of ‘Razakars’.
He dismisses allegations of pursuing communal politics and maintains that the AIMIM believes in the Indian Constitution and has been fighting for the Constitutional rights of the minorities, Dalits and others.
The AIMIM made its electoral debut in 1959, winning two municipal by-elections in Hyderabad. In 1960, it emerged as the main opposition party in Hyderabad.
Abdul Wahed Owaisi’s son Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was among the party leaders elected to the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH).
The party underwent an image makeover in the 1980s when Salahuddin Owaisi made three Hindu corporators of the party the mayors of Hyderabad. Those were the days when Hyderabad used to witness frequent communal tension.
From municipal wards in the old city of Hyderabad to two Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the AIMIM has come a long way in its six-decade-long journey in independent India.
More than three decades after first winning the Hyderabad seat, the party expanded itself in a true sense in 2019 by wresting the Aurangabad seat in Maharashtra from the Shiv Sena.
A party confined to the old city of Hyderabad till a few years ago, the AIMIM was ridiculed by its rivals for calling itself an all India party.
The party now has 10 MLAs — seven in Telangana, two in Maharashtra and one in Bihar. Its tally of MLAs was 14 but four MLAs in Bihar recently switched loyalties to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
While continuing its efforts to expand to various states, the AIMIM is treading cautiously to check the BJP’s surge in Telangana.
In a tactical move aimed at stopping the BJP from politically exploiting emotive issues like September 17, the AIMIM for the first time in its history celebrated the day last year as national integration day.
It was on September 17, 1948 that Hyderabad State was merged with the Indian Union. The AIMIM always opposed celebrating the day on the ground that there is only one independence day for the entire country.
The BJP had been targeting the TRS for not officially celebrating �Telangana Liberation Day’ due to pressure from Owaisi.
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#Owaisis #AIMIM #invincible #Hyderabad #strongholds
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Telangana: As Sharmila prepares to resume walk, she emerges a challenger

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Hyderabad: Till a few weeks ago, political pundits in Telangana were hardly taking note of Y. S. Sharmila but today she has emerged as a serious player who can no longer be ignored.
The alleged attack by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) activists to stop her state-wide padyatra in November shows that the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) has become a thorn in the flesh for the ruling party.
Sharmila’s detention after the attack on her padyatra, her subsequent attempt to stage a protest at Chief Minister KCR’s residence in Hyderabad, her dramatic arrest with a car with Sharmila sitting inside being towed away by the police and her hunger strike to protest hurdles being created by the BRS government in the resumption of her padyatra all helped her to capture public attention.
Political observers say Sharmila succeeded in gaining sympathy in some sections by portraying herself as a woman who is at the receiving end for questioning the KCR government.
The daughter of former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy has drawn the ire of the BRS by launching a bitter attack on its ministers, MLAs and MPs during the padyatra. Her verbal attacks provoked BRS leaders, triggering strong protests and even physical attacks.
When Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy floated the YSRTP in 2021, not many took her seriously. The BJP and the Congress had dubbed her the arrow of KCR to divide the anti-incumbency votes, especially the votes of the powerful Reddy community.
Interestingly, Sharmila’s foray into Telangana politics was not liked by her brother who wants to confine himself to Andhra Pradesh. She, however, received support of her mother Vijayamma, who last year resigned as the honorary president of the YSRCP.
Last month, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan condemned the manner in which Sharmila was arrested and several BJP leaders expressed solidarity with her.

There were reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her but she refused to answer queries about it. All this prompted the BRS leaders including KCR’s daughter K. Kavitha to dub her a BJP plant in the state.
Sharmila, however, claims that the YSRTP is the only party that is fighting on behalf of the people of Telangana. She said both the Congress and the BJP failed to expose the failures and corruption of KCR.
The YSRTP leader even submitted ‘documentary proof’ of corruption in the Kaleshwaram project to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
“YSR Telangana Party is today a threat to KCR and his BRS and they have bitterly turned against us. If you are not scared of the changing public mood and the growing strength of our party, why these attacks,” she asked.
In October 2021, she embarked on a padyatra like her late father YSR, who had undertaken a walkathon in then united Andhra Pradesh in 2003 and led the Congress party back to power in 2004.
She has been constantly reassuring people that Rajanna Rajyam or the golden era welfare of the late YSR would be brought back, if the party was voted to power.
Sharmila has already covered over 3500 km and is set to resume the walkathon this week from Warangal district where it was stopped by BRS supporters on November 28, 2022.
The YSRTP is yet to attract major leaders from other parties. A couple of days ago, former MP from Khammam and BRS leader Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy met her, triggering speculation that he will switch loyalties to the YSRTP.
Sharmila has already announced that she will contest elections from Palair, one of the Assembly segments of Khammam Lok Sabha constituency. Ever since launching the YSRTP, she has been focusing on Khammam district, which is located on the border with Andhra Pradesh.
According to political analysts, she chose Palair as it is considered a soft seat for a debut. The party will be looking to capitalize on the advantages Khammam district offers with the strong social and cultural influence of Andhra Pradesh.
As her evangelist husband Anil Kumar hails from Telangana, Sharmila calls herself a daughter-in-law of Telangana to counter those calling her non-local.
However, analysts say as Telangana sentiment is not going to be strong this time and the TRS itself becoming BRS to expand to other states including Andhra Pradesh, Sharmila and her party may not face any adverse campaign by those who see it as an Andhra party.
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#Telangana #Sharmila #prepares #resume #walk #emerges #challenger
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
BBC Modi docu: 10 CURAJ students suspended after ABVP’s ‘list’

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Ten students were suspended, for 14 days, by the Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) in Ajmer over watching the banned BBC documentary – India: The Modi Question.
According to reports, the students have been suspended from academics and hostels. While two were suspended on Friday (January 27), eight were suspended the next day.
However, the university authorities maintain that the students were suspended over disciplinary action.
11 students, allegedly watched the bbc documentary, were suspended by the admin of Central university of Rajasthan and were ousted from hostel. They were even denied the basic right of being heard. + pic.twitter.com/I8JmJ7RDS7
— Shamseer Ibrahim (@ShamseerIbrahm) January 28, 2023
Talking to The Indian Express, a suspended student said that they were watching the documentary on their phones.
“On January 26, some students had put up posters announcing that they would watch the documentary near the campus post office. So some of us gathered and watched it on our phones, not even on a laptop or a screen. Soon security along with the police arrived. The ABVP students started shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and questioned us over the documentary. Around 8 pm, we dispersed,” the suspended student was quoted by The Indian Express.
The suspended student alleged that soon after they dispersed, at around 10 pm, the ABVP members marched into the hostel, covering their faces. “They cut off the electricity, shouted slogans and then threaten us with dire consequences,” the suspended student said, adding no assault took place.
According to some students, the suspension took place following a ‘list’ submitted by the ABVP. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said that among the 10 suspended students, eight are Muslim, one is Christian and one is Hindu.
“There was no screening on January 26. Students were watching the documentary on their phones which is a personal matter. The suspension order is a direct attack on the right of an individual’s privacy,” a PUCL member said.

The PUCL has shot off a letter to the vice-chancellor Anand Bhalerao stating the suspension was communal. “The students were never heard. No enquiry gave them a hearing and without the students being given a right to hearing and without being issued show cause notices, they were expelled for 15 days from the university and hostel,” the letter stated.
“The authorities should be protecting and defending the freedom of speech and expression of the students as a part of the right to education and critical thinking,” the letter said.
ABVP president for CURAJ, Vikash Pathak told The Indian Express the screening that was conducted by the Student Federation of India (SFI) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
Pathak alleged that when they tried to ‘reason out’ why the documentary should not be screened as it was banned by the government when SFI and NSUI students started arguing.
When asked about the threatening calls made on the hostel premises by ABVP, Pathak denied the claim. “Nothing like that happened. They are merely trying to digress from the accusations against them. They should own up to their mistake,” he said as quoted by The Indian Express.

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#BBC #Modi #docu #CURAJ #students #suspended #ABVPs #list
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Chattisgarh: A weakened BJP struggles to find face to counter Baghel

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Raipur: As the state gears up for assembly elections, BJP happens to be in a difficult situation to put forth its Chief Ministerial face. The party appears to be the weakest in Chhattisgarh.
The state was ruled by BJP for a decade and a half, but in the last election, the party was completely wiped out. Now BJP is working up all strategies to return to power. While major changes have been introduced in the organisation, the system is being strengthened at the grassroots as well. Additionally, there is also an eye on the internal tussle of the Congress.
The BJP has failed to build a movement against the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh, which was once the hallmark of the BJP. At the district level, there is are protests and agitations, but that is absent at the state level where the party is not able to succeed in creating a campaign, which in turn could create an atmosphere against the Congress in general public’s mind.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is not only announcing schemes for every section, but is also implementing them. After coming to power, Congress has taken steps towards strengthening its position by announcing farm loan waiver, campaigning to strengthen the rural economy and now assuring unemployment allowance in the election year.
The biggest challenge for the BJP in the state is to come up with a representation. Although the BJP government in the state has been under the leadership of Dr Raman Singh for a decade and a half, the picture of who will be the next Chief Minister is still unclear.
It is not clear whether the BJP will make a tribal or a non-tribal the CM. On the other hand, the Congress has already played the backward class card through Bhupesh Baghel, and is leaving no stone unturned to woo the Scheduled Tribes as well.
Political analysts believe that the path to power is not easy for BJP in Chhattisgarh because the organisation is not strong enough to challenge the Congress and the Bhupesh Baghel government. Besides, there is no clarity on who will be the next Chief Minister from BJP. Consequently, veteran leaders of the party are not seen active on the ground. On the other hand, the Congress is doing everything to build inroads and win the hearts of public.
Congress holds 71 of the state’s 90 assembly seats, while the BJP has 14 MLAs. Apart from this, Chhattisgarh Congress has three and Bahujan Samaj Party has two MLAs. Not only this, Congress is in control of all the 14 urban bodies of the state.

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#Chattisgarh #weakened #BJP #struggles #find #face #counter #Baghel
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023