HYDERABAD: The political backlash in Andhra Pradesh over Telangana decision took a fresh turn on Saturday with as many as 20 ministers hailing from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions planning to resign from their posts en masse.
The ministers, under immense pressure from their constituents to quit following the Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, met in a hotel here this afternoon and decided to put in their papers.
"We have decided to resign from our posts. We have asked three of our colleagues -- Dharmana Prasada Rao, Gade Venkata Reddy and C Silpa Mohan Reddy -- to communicate our decision to chief minister K Rosaiah," state municipal administration minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy told mediapersons after the meeting.
Immediately, Dharmana, Gade and Silpa Mohan rushed to the Secretariat to meet the chief minister.
After their meeting, however, the ministers maintained that they had not taken up the resignation issue with Rosaiah yet. "We will meet him later in the evening and discuss the issue," Dharmana and Gade told reporters.
The chief minister, meanwhile, refused to speak to the media and left for home.
Battling a swell of political discontent on the Telangana decision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday stepped in to do damage control, telling MPs from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema that "nothing will be done in haste".
Over 130 MLAs and five MPs cutting across party lines from non-Telangana areas have resigned protesting against the decision to carve out the new state.
Meanwhile, chief minister K Rosaiah ruled out tabling a resolution for creation of separate Telangana in the Assembly immediately and that he was "astonished, surprised and anguished" by Union home minister P Chidambaram's statement on initiating steps for creation of a new state.
He said he discussed with the high command the issue of Telangana but he had told them that to pass a resolution in the assembly was difficult and he had expressed his "fears".
"There was preparation but to my astonishment, to my surprise and anguish, the so-called statement issued by Chidambaram has created a sort of flutter among the youth of coastal areas of Rayalaseema starting from Srikakulam up to Tirupati to Kadapa," he said.
TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, on the other hand, threw the ball in Centre's court on the creation of Telangana and insisted that Hyderabad will be capital of the proposed state.
Rao ruled out sharing of Hyderabad as capital with Andhra Pradesh like Chandigarh being shared by Haryana and Punjab. "Chandigarh and Hyderabad can never be compared".
"Having made the announcement, it is up to them (the Centre) to resolve the issue. I think, they are at it", Rao, recuperating at his home after a 13-day fast, said.
Telangana resolution difficult: Rosaiah
HYDERABAD: Battling the backlash against creation of Telangana, Congress appeared to backpedal the move with Andhra Pradesh CM K Rosaiah expressing his inability to take the first step -- that of moving a state Assembly resolution.
Making it clear that passage of the resolution was fraught with hurdles, he said it would be difficult to get the resolution passed by the legislature if it was moved in the current session.
"I can't assure you that the resolution will be passed because the number is most important. Cutting across party lines, the agitation will take a turn," he said.
Expressing "astonishment, surprise and anguish" over home minister P Chidambaram's Wednesday night statement on creation of Telangana, the chief minister said to move a resolution and to pass it would be difficult and he had expressed his fears to the Congress leadership.
The statement has created a sort of flutter among the youth of coastal areas and Rayalaseema starting from Srikakulam upto Tirupati and Kadap, he said.
Meanwhile, as many as 20 ministers hailing from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions are planning to resign from their posts en masse.
Hyderabad will be capital of Telangana state: TRS chief
HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao Saturday asserted that Hyderabad would be the capital of the proposed Telangana state, and rejected suggestions of making it a shared capital with Andhra Pradesh.
Rao, whose 11-day hunger strike forced the central government to agree to the demand for a Telangana state, told TV news channel that Hyderabad cannot be made a joint capital on the lines of Chandigarh.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said: "Hyderabad can't be compared with Chandigarh. It is not a new bifurcation. Telangana state existed earlier with Hyderabad as capital while Andhra state had Kurnool as its capital."
KCR also pointed out that Hyderabad is geographically located in Telangana. "How can they (Andhra) claim Hyderabad. Does it make any sense?" he asked.
The TRS chief also assured people of other regions of Andhra Pradesh settled in Hyderabad that they could continue to live here in peace after the formation of the new state.
He also said there was no question of going back on a separate Telangana state, and added that the protests in other regions against it were stage managed and sponsored by vested interests who had invested money and acquired lands illegally in Hyderabad.
KCR said passing a resolution in the state assembly was not necessary to carve out Telangana. He said he had full faith in United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that they would take the necessary measures for formation of the state.
"I have lot of faith in Sonia Gandhi. And Manmohan Singhji, who is at the helm of affairs today, is a fairly good person. Having made an announcement on behalf of the Government of India, it is up to them to solve the problem," Rao told the channel.
Rao said he had been invited to New Delhi for talks.
"They have invited me to Delhi for talks soon after my recovery. I said that I can come only after a week or 10 days. I am not even able to come out of my residence. I with difficulty went to the balcony and waved to the people," Rao said.
"Hyderabad is such a place ... such a good society. It allows everybody, absorbs everybody," said Rao.
"In Hyderabad, not just Andhras, but Maharashtrians, Kannadigas and Kayasths from north India live."
He accused the Andhra Pradesh people of "exploiting" the employment opportunities of Telangana region.
"Ultimately our people were pushed to go to the Gulf countries. The agony of Telangana is that 35,000 Telanganas are in jails in Gulf countries," Rao said.
"Why should Telangana suffer? And Hyderabad city?" he asked.
"We used to have an airport much before the formation of AP (Andhra Pradesh). Today's all railway stations have been constructed by the Nizam. All the hospitals, educational institutions have been built by the Nizam," Rao said.
Telangana does not mean new states everywhere: Pranab
KOLKATA: With the rising clamour of statehood demands from other parts of the country, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday that the nod for Telangana did not mean that new states would be created everywhere.
Answering queries from reporters at a function in North 24 Parganas district, Mukherjee said the demand for Telangana was old and it "does not mean that everywhere new states are to be created".
He said home minister P. Chidambaram had indicated that there were several stages leading to formation of a state, and in the case of Telangana, developments were at a preliminary stage.
Mukherjee's response comes amid a flurry of statehood demands from across the country.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Friday demanded that her state be trifurcated into Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh for better governance. She said she has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
The centre's decision to start the process of forming Telangana has stoked the dormant demands for statehood across the country, including Vidarbha, Gorkhaland, Bodoland, Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal.
While Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh has renewed his demand for Harit Pradesh, Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar has revived the demand for carving Vidarbha out of Maharashtra.
Faced with the growing clamour for new states, the Congress on Friday accepted that lack of development in a region could be a reason for the demand for smaller states, but stressed that the party was against demands for new states being made for "political adjustment of leaders".
Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed also admitted that the rising demand for new states had increased the difficulties for the government, but said it would respond with a cool mind.
Sonia, Manmohan will deliver on Telangana promise: KCR
New Delhi: TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao threw the ball in Centre's court on the creation of a separate Telangana state and insisted that Hyderabad will be the capital of the proposed state.
Rao ruled out sharing of Hyderabad as capital with Andhra Pradesh like Chandigarh being shared by Haryana and Punjab. "Chandigarh and Hyderabad can never be compared".
"Having made the announcement, it is upto them (the Centre) to resolve the issue. I think, they are at it", said Rao, who is recuperating at his home after a 13-day fast protest.
When asked specifically whether he would go back on the Telangana issue in view of the evolving situation in the rest of Andhra Pradesh, he said, "The question does not arise. An arrow once leaves the bow cannot be brought back".
Profusely praising Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said that the whole burden of the people of Telangana was now on her shoulders and "I am thankful to her...because of her initiative and grace, today the dream has come true.”
Claiming that Gandhi loved him like her son, Rao said I have a "lot of faith" in her and "fairly good person" Manmohan Singh, who is at the helm of affairs.
"It is better for the leaders of Andhra Pradesh to concede to the request of Sonia Gandhi", he said dubbing the anti-Telangana agitation as an "artificial" one, "prompted, funded and with wrong motives by vested interests".
These elements have investments in Hyderabad including in benami lands, he alleged but added wise leaders of both sides will find a solution.
Justice Dinakaran’s impeachment petition by next week?
New Delhi: With more than 50 Rajya Sabha members favouring impeachment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, a petition in this regard is likely to be submitted to the House Chairman Md Hamid Ansari early next week.
A signature campaign is underway and more than 50 Rajya Sabha members from BJP, Left parties and Samajwadi Party, among others, are understood to have signed the petition, sources said. Congress members have reportedly refrained from signing on the document.
As per rules, a petition containing signatures of at least 50 of the 250 member Rajya Sabha, which is the first step in the impeachment process.
Under rules, the MPs' petition is sent to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for verification of signatures. On being satisfied that appropriate procedures have been followed, a committee is set up for further consideration of the petition.
The move to impeach Dinakaran has come in the backdrop of allegations of land grabbing against him for which his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court has been stalled.
Government has already sent back Dinakaran's file to the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider its decision to elevate him.
A resolution, to be carried, should have the support of two-thirds majority of the members present in each House of Parliament. After this, the President will pass an order.
Indian Business News
Volkswagen rolled out its first made-in-India car 'Polo'
Pune:The German Auto major Volkswagen rolled out its first made-in-India car ‘Polo’ at its plant at Chakan, near here in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
Chavan who welcomed the company's decision to set up Rs 3,800 crore plant at Pune with an annual capacity of manufacturing 110,000 cars, said the state government would extend support to it to achieve its full capacity utilization at the earliest.
"We have promised our voters that we will solve the energy problem in Maharashtra and put stop to load shedding in next three years," he said, adding that the government was committed to remove all difficulties relating to development of infrastructure for industrial growth.
The Chief Minister said the government was looking out for more employment generation opportunities and appealed to foreign investors to consider opening their new plants in backward regions of the state such as Vidarbha, Konkan and Marathwada.
Facebook asks users to personalize privacy
New Delhi: Setting a new standard in user control, Facebook announced that it is calling on its more than 350 million users to review and update their privacy settings�a first among major Internet services.
In addition, Facebook will be rolling out easy-to-use tools to empower people to personalize control over their information�based on what the content is, why they are sharing it, when, and the audience they seek to reach.
�Facebook is transforming the world�s ability to control its information online by empowering more than 350 million people to personalize the audience for each piece of content they share,� said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Communications, Public Policy and Marketing. �We�ve always designed Facebook to enable people to control what information they share with whom�it�s the reason our service continues to attract such a broad and diverse group of users from around the world. We�re proud of the latest evolution we�re announcing today and we will continue to innovate to serve users� changing needs.�
The tools launching today are part of Facebook�s continuing innovation and a response to requests from both users and experts. Different versions of these suggestions were developed and tested extensively since the beginning of this year. The resulting new features include added control for each piece of content users share, simplified privacy settings, help in choosing settings, and expanded privacy education materials.
Gold slides on weak global cues
New Delhi: Gold prices fell by Rs 250 to Rs 17,110 per ten gram in the bullion market as investors resorted to heavy selling amid a weakening global trend.
The precious metal slid to 1,108.30 dollar from 1,130 dollar an ounce in New York as firming US dollar reduced demand for the metal as an alternate investment.
The dollar gained against a basket of major currencies from a report that showed US retail sales increased more than the market expectations.
The falling trend in gold prices was mirrored by the other precious metal silver too.
Silver plunged by Rs 450 to Rs 27,450 per kg.
Marketmen said retail customers remained on the sidelines and postponed their decision to purchase jewellery at the current higher level, further dampening the market sentiment.
Standard gold and ornaments registered a steep fall of Rs 250 each to Rs 17,110 and Rs 16,960 per ten gram respectively while sovereign remained steady at Rs 13,900 per piece of eight gram.
A similar weakening trend was extended to silver, with silver ready plunging by Rs 450 to Rs 27,450 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 335 to Rs 27,050 per kg.
In line with a general trend, silver coins also lost Rs 100 at Rs 33,200 for buying and Rs 33,300 for selling of 100 pieces.
Indian Sports News
Repentent Woods takes 'indefinite break' from golf
Los Angeles: In a stunning decision, golf superstar Tiger Woods announced he was putting his game on the backburner to try to save his marriage as he admitted for the first time being unfaithful.
Woods said on Friday he was taking an "indefinite break" from the PGA Tour and apologized, pleading for forgiveness in a statement on his website.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children," he said. "I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness."
Woods, who has not been seen in public for the past two weeks, has a two-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son with his wife, Elin.
"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person," he added.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Friday they would not try to rush Wood into returning to the sport. "His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honour his family's request for privacy," Finchem said. "We look forward to Tiger's return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him."
Ten women have been romantically linked to the billionaire golfer, whose private life has come under the glare of public scrutiny since he crashed his car in late November.
Woods was taken to hospital on November 27 after hitting a fire hydrant and a tree, two days after a tabloid reported he was having an affair with New York club hostess Rachel Uchitel.
Gambhir, team manager test negative for swine flu
Mohali: The Indian cricket team heaved a sigh of relief after opener Gautam Gambhir, manager Mayank Parekh and video analyst Dhananjay tested negative for Swine Flu in Mohali on Saturday.
After pacer S Sreesanth tested positive for the H1N1 virus, the Indian team had a scare when Parekh too was hospitalised with flu-like symptoms.
Gambhir and Dhananjay too showed mild symptoms, prompting the team management to get them tested as a precautionary measure.
"All three tests have turned out to be negative," Punjab Cricket Association's joint secretary G S Walia said in Mohali.
After Gambhir showed symptoms of flu, Virat Kohli was called in as cover for today's Twenty20 cricket match against Sri Lanka here.
"The test was not done on any medical advice. Both (Gambhir and Dhananjay) are in their hotel rooms right now," Punjab Cricket Association President IS Bindra said.
Sreesanth is still in hospital recovering from the dreaded disease and the rest of team members who came in close proximity with the pacer were screened by a team of doctors.
Director of Fortis, Mohali, Dr A R Banerjee said that the Kerala cricketer, who has been ruled out of Saturday's Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka, is doing better now.
"His condition is improving. All his vital parameters are okay. Sreesanth is likely to be under treatment at the hospital for 2-3 days. The decision to discharge him will be taken once there is a marked improvement in his condition," Banerjee said on Saturday.
Punjab's Nodal Officer for swine flu cases, Deepak Bhatia said a team of doctors has told the Indian players to report any flu like symptoms as early as possible.
Flu hits Team India: Now manager Mayank Sekar hospitalised
Mohali: Indian cricket team manager Mayank Sekhar was admitted to a local hospital in Mohali late on Friday night with flu-like symptoms, a day after pacer S Sreesanth was diagnosed with swine flu.
"The manager has been admitted to the (Fortis) hospital only as a precautionary measure after he developed cough and cold," Joint Secretary of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) G S Walia said.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team has been advised to report to the team management and hotel doctors if they show flu-like symptoms.
Walia said specific tests for swine flu will only be done if the players show symptoms. "The tests for swine flu will only be done if there are any symptoms of flu. Otherwise, players can just have a routine medical check-up," Walia said.
Sreesanth was admitted to the Fortis hospital on Thursday night and the in-form speedster remains under the doctors' observation following multiple ailments.
Tests had confirmed that he is suffering from H1N1 influenza, according Joint Secretary of Punjab Cricket Association G S Walia.
Director of Fortis, Mohali, Dr A R Banerjee said that the Kerala cricketer, who has been ruled out of Saturday's Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka, is doing better now.
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