Baba Ramdev advises sages to maintain distance from women

Haridwar: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev today said that sages and holymen should avoid being alone with women, including their mothers, daughters and mothers-in-law, as that was the prescription laid down in Hindu scriptures.

"One of the principles of ideal behaviour for saints prescribed by the scriptures is to maintain a distance from women, including their mothers, daughters and mothers-in-law," Baba Ramdev said.

Congress Seemandhra leaders to hold dharna in Delhi

Congress leaders from Seemandhra region will organise a massive dharna in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest against the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Talking to reporters in the Assembly premises here on Sunday, Minister S Sailajanath said that all Congress leaders would assemble and meet in Delhi on Monday evening. The next day, they would make a representation with High Power AK Antony Committee on the implications of bifurcation. They would also participate in a dharna at Jantar Mantar to oppose State's division.

Sailajanath claimed that the Centre was softening its stand on the bifurcation issue. He said that the Congress Working Committee had put a seal on deliberations. However, continuous agitation forced the Centre to appoint a committee to hold consultation and hear the grievances of Seemandhra people. He hoped that the Antony Committee would take a serious view of their representation.

The minister also slammed TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu for maintaining silence on the bifurcation issue. He also condemned the YSR Congress party for not making its stand clear on the Telangana State. (INN) 

Vijayamma holds dharna

YSRCP leader Y S Vijayamma on Wednesday sat on fast at Jantar Mantar in the capital, demanding that Andhra Pradesh be kept united. She targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her ‘selfish’ decision on the creation of Telangana, which she alleged was aimed at limiting the influence of YSRCP supremo Jaganmohan Reddy to only one region.
Vijayamma’s hunger strike came after she met President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, besides top political leaders on Tuesday to represent to them that the Congress decision on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana was for its own selfish political interests. This decision was not in the interests of the people of the state, she said.
Addressing the gathering at the venue, Vijayamma also hit out at TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu. When gross injustice was being meted out to Seemandhra region, Naidu was not even opening his mouth, she said. She accused him of giving a letter of unconditional support for the creation of Telangana.

Face-off between Seemandhra, Telangana employees at Jala Soudha

Tension prevailed in Jala Soudha, headquarters of the irrigation department, on Friday with supporters of Telangana and Seemandhra nearly coming to blows over bifurcation of the state.

As Seemandhra staff staged a dharna with flowers in their ears at the office at Erram Manjil to protest the proposed division, Telangana employees countered it by holding a lunch-hour protest in front of the main gate. Both groups raised slogans to highlight their cause, with Telangana employees challenging the Seemandhra staff to stop bifurcation if they could and the latter retaliating that they will ensure status quo. The situation took a turn for the worse the two groups started jostling each other, forcing the police to rush in and separating them.

Meanwhile, Congress leader N Tusali Reddy tried to barge into Jala Soudha in support of Seemandhra staff but this was opposed by the Telangana staff. Police stopped him from entering the premises and took him into custody.

As the situation turned tense, police officials from Punjagutta and Saifabad rushed to the place and asked the two groups to disperse. But the Telangana staff demanded that all outsiders be sent out. Police then took some outsiders, including a contractor, into precautionary custody, tightened security around the place and did not even allow the media inside.

Both groups of employees continued their agitation till 2 pm. "Seemandhra employees are belittling our Telangana by staging a dharna with flowers on the ears. This has enraged employees from Telangana," said an employee.

Meanwhile, at the secretariat, both Seemandhra and Telangana employees continued their agitation. Elsewhere during the day, Telangana ministers P Laxmaiah, J Geeta Reddy and B Sariah held a meeting in K Jana Reddy's chambers to chalk out 'victory celebrations' for achieving the goal of getting a separate Telangana state. At Indira Park, the Telangana JAC held a demonstration and demanded that the Centre expedite the process of creating Telangana state.

Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana held talks with striking RTC unions and urged them to call off their agitation. RTC managing director AK Khan pointed out that the corporation was incurring a loss of Rs 13 crore every day because of the agitations and the cumulative loss was already Rs 200 crore, adding that they would not be able to pay salaries if the agitation continues. However, Union leaders refused to call off the strike unless the Centre rolls back its decision .

Prof Kodandaram said that T activists must be alert in the wake of intense efforts by Seemandhra leaders to influence the Congress leadership to revoke the decision on Telangana.

Seemandhra leaders stage dharna in Parliament complex

Over 50 Congress MLAs and MLCs of Seemandhra, including 14 Ministers of Kiran Kumar Reddy Cabinet, Union ministers and party MPs from the region, staged an hour-long dharna in front of Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex here on Tuesday seeking continuation of united Andhra Pradesh.

Sudden protest

It was an unusual sight as hitherto only the MPs were allowed to stage protest in the high security complex. The sudden protest of MLAs and MLCs and State ministers, who entered the building complex with the temporary passes, caused concern among the security officials and kept them on tenterhooks throughout the stir.

Except Union ministers from Seemandhra region – Kishore Chandra Deo, Kotla Jayasurya Prakash Reddy and Panabaka Lakshmi – all other members of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet from the region participated.

The Congress leaders, who also got the pass for entering the Central Hall, met leaders of some of the national parties and canvassed for support against creation of Telangana.

First time ever

Special Correspondent in Hyderabad adds: Trying to play down the high command’s reported advice against demonstration at Jantar Mantar, the Seemandhra leaders claimed that for the first time ever, elected representatives other than Parliament members were allowed to stage a protest demonstration on the premises.

At a breakfast meeting in the house of MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, it was decided that the Seemandhra leaders should hold a demonstration at Parliament House.

“We felt that our agitation in front of Gandhi statue would give us more publicity. We were able to highlight the concern of the crores of people of Seemandhra region who are opposed to bifurcation,” Government Whip R. Padmaraju told The Hindu on Tuesday from New Delhi.

Congress leaders said there was no intention on the part of the high command to prevent them from going to Jantar Mantar. Congress MLA K. Kanna Babu denied that the Central leaders had warned them. “Do you think the high command would warn us against holding a demonstration at Jantar Mantar and ask us to agitate at Parliament?” he questioned.

Former Minister Gade Venkat Reddy said that the unilateral decision on bifurcation was uncalled for and undemocratic. “When Andhra State was carved out of Madras State, people of this region were consulted and convinced. Why was the same procedure not followed? We had come to Delhi to highlight the public mood against bifurcation,” he said.

YSR Congress' Sharmila to begin bus yatra on September 2

Demanding that the Centre maintain status quo on Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Sharmila will launch a bus yatra from September 2.
The launch of bus yatra coincides with the fourth death anniversary of former chief minister late Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The bus yatra will begin from Idupulapaya in Kadapa district.
Sharmila is planning to tour all districts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema demanding that the Centre maintain status quo on Andhra Pradesh if was unable to do equal justice to all regions.

Naidu puts off bus yatra

 Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has postponed his bus yatra or 'Atma Gaurava Yatra' which was supposed to be kicked off from the Vizianagaram district from August 25.

The decision reportedly came after several party leaders from the Seemandhra region pointed out that the Samaikyandhra 'sentiment' is very strong in the region and that there was a lot of public anger

against him. Opposition parties had targeted Naidu for the bifurcation of the state, they claimed.

Naidu promises loan waiver for farmers

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday announced that he would waive all agricultural loans if his party was elected to power in Assembly polls next year.

Addressing a regional meeting of Telugu Desam workers ahead of the local body elections here, Chandrababu Naidu also promised to supply nine hours of uninterrupted power supply to the farm sector. "Farmers have been suffering under the Congress government in the state. Prices of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds have gone up and the government has not done anything concrete to control the price rise. The farming community is now in the lurch and only the Telugu Desam will make them prosperous," the TD supremo said.

Seemandhra on boil as fasting Jagan's condition weakens

YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy (40), who has been on an indefinite hunger strike against Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation, has refused to heed his party's request to call off the strike. He did not allow doctors to inject IV fluids, nearly a day after he was forcibly shifted to a hospital.

Seemandhra leaders to meet again

Troubled by the lack of unanimity on quitting the cabinet in solidarity with Samaikyandhra agitation, Union ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra region have decided to meet on September 2 to decide their future course of action.

Jagan was too hot for prison officials to handle

It was a tricky affair for authorities of the Chanchalguda jail to handle but with YS Jaganmohan Reddy being injected fluids forcibly on Saturday at the Nizam's Insitute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), prison officials heaved a sigh of relief.

La affair Jagan became too hot to handle for the prisons department as the YSR CP leader resorted to an indefinite hunger strike in the jail for Samaikhyandhra in the jail from August 18. Jaganmohan Reddy bypassed prison officials choosing not to even intimate them about the hunger strike that he intended to take up. The announcement about his intention only came from the YSR CP office.

Jaganmohan Reddy's health deteriorates, doctors force-feed him

YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy was on Saturday force-fed as his condition started deteriorating after being on an indefinite fast for the past seven days.

On the direction from Chanchalguda Jail officials, doctors at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) forcibly gave intravenous (IV) fluids to Jagan as his condition was worsening, a hospital official said.

Tension in Andhra secretariat during protests

Tension prevailed at Andhra Pradesh state secretariat here Saturday as the protesting employees from Seemandhra and Telangana regions nearly came to blows.

Police officials intervened to avert a clash as protests and counter protests by the employees from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra) and Telangana continued to rock secretariat, the seat of governance.

Police further tightened the security and mobilised additional forces to prevent any untoward incident as the employees refused to call off the protests.

While employees from Seemandhra have been staging protests almost daily to oppose the Congress Working Committee's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state, their counterparts from Telangana are also taking out rallies to pressure the central government to speed up the process for formation of separate state.

Rupee fall gives BPOs some relief from Philippines

Partho Sarkar, CEO of BPO firm Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), is among those who are happy about the rupee's fall against the dollar. The BPO business in India has taken a bit of a knock, thanks to the growing competitiveness of the Philippines and the withdrawal of the 10-year tax holiday that the Indian government previously extended to the IT/BPO sector.

Seemandhra on boil as fasting Jagan's condition weakens

YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy (40), who has been on an indefinite hunger strike against Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation, has refused to heed his party's request to call off the strike. He did not allow doctors to inject IV fluids, nearly a day after he was forcibly shifted to a hospital.

Jagan, whose popularity in Seemandhra region has soared considerably after his party began spearheading protests against the Congress for proposing to carve out a new Telangana state, started fasting six days ago in jail, where he is lodged for alleged corruption.

The fast intensified protests for United Andhra in Seemandhra region as students took out rallies in Eluru and Kakinada.

Why did Bihar Police spurn Intelligence Bureau's offer to take Yasin Bhatkal on remand?

The Bihar Police on Wednesday spurned the Intelligence Bureau's (IB) repeated suggestions to take Yasin Bhatkal on remand after one of India's "most wanted" terrorists had been apprehended in Nepal.

According to sources, IB had requested the Bihar Police to take Yasin on remand on Wednesday night. Senior officials of the IB involved in one of the most successful counter-terror operations emphasized Yasin's role in raising the 'Darbhanga module'- one of the several sleeper cells of Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) Indian proxy Indian Mujahideen (IM) — whose members have been accused of being involved in terror strikes in different parts of the country, including Mumbai.

Sources in central agencies told TOI that IB officials pointed out that at least 15 members of IM had been arrested from the Darbhanga region and this gave Bihar enough basis for arresting Yasin under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

People from all walks of life gear up for bandh

Responding to the bandh call given by the AP Non-Governmental Organisation and Samaikyandhra JAC leaders, people from all walks of life in Krishna District headquarters Machilipatnam are gearing up to join the bandh scheduled for Tuesday.

All the government employees and private associations have already expressed their willingness to participate in the bandh to raise their voice against the UPA Government’s decision to carve out separate Telangana. Business establishments such as petrol outlets and markets and Rythu Bazaar experienced an unprecedented turnout of customers on Monday evening in order to prepare for the coming 24 hours by meeting the requirements of necessary commodities.

Bandh affects life in coastal AP; Govt staff begin strike

Normal life came to a standstill on Tuesday in the city and other coastal towns such as Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Vijayawada, Guntur and Ongole, as a bandh was observed in response to the call given by the joint action committee agitating for preserving the unity of Andhra Pradesh (Samaikhyandhra JAC). The Government employees went on an indefinite strike from Monday midnight and the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) staff in these districts also responded to the strike call. Buses went off the road.

Andhra Pradesh has a new Leader of Opposition - Kiran Kumar Reddy?

For the last one month, Kiran Kumar Reddy has been chief minister of Andhra Pradesh only in name. Governance of the state, never spectacular under him in any case, has been left Ram Bharose and Reddy has been sulking over his party high command's decision to divide Andhra Pradesh. 

Unlike a typical Congressman, he has shown he has a spine and has been taking potshots at his leadership, telling them without mincing words, that they have committed a blunder. From all indications, he will do all it takes to put enough hurdles in the path to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. 

Seemandhra ministers in the Andhra Pradesh cabinet say all of them, including the CM, believe elections in 2014 will take place in a united Andhra Pradesh. And they hope if they are able to convince their voters that they managed to stall the creation of a Telangana state, people will vote for them. 

Engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh facing bleak future

HYDERABAD: Over two lakh engineering seats are expected to lie vacant across the three regions during the academic year 2013-14. Even as Eamcet certificate verification came to an official close on Friday (with some exemptions), just 1.27 lakh students out of a total of 2.17 lakh, who qualified for Eamcet, turned up to verify their certificates.

The state has a total of 3.38 lakh seats. Of this, 2.37 lakh seats are convener quota (merit list) and 1.01 lakh are management quota seats.

Though the state government has extended the deadline to September 2 for the strike-stricken Seemandhra students, Eamcet counselling officers predict that a maximum of 10,000 students would come for certificate verification during this period. "Students will be allowed to select the colleges of their choice on September 3. Allotment of seats will be on September 18 and engineering classes will start from September 23," K Raghunath, Eamcet camp officer said.