Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday asked officials to make all preparations for the soon-to-be-held municipal elections. He also asked them to finalise the staffing pattern of the newly constituted Municipalities within three days.
The BJP Government in Gujarat state led by its Chief Minister Narendra Modi makes a clean swipe in civic polls by winning 22 of the 24 seats. In a significant move Modi has stalled 100 Muslim candidates on behalf of his party, and all of them win the elections. The humiliating defeat makes its rival state Congress party president resign to his post. He attributes the defeat to tampering of EVMs by Modi government.
Speaking in a press meet Modi said “"It's clear that even my Muslim brothers have taken part in this developmental success of the government. It is an all inclusive victory."
2011/12/1 3:40:37 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday reiterated that it was prepared for mid-term general elections and exuded confidence of winning over 200 parliamentary seats on its own.
"I am not an astrologer so I can't say when and whether the mid-term polls will be held. But I can tell you that the BJP is ready for mid-term polls," BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said in an informal talk with reporters here.
Gadkari said once the BJP crossed the 170-seat mark, allies will start cosying up to it.
"Once we cross the 170-mark we will get a stream of partners and this will expand the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which will come to power," Gadkari said.
The just concluded by polls were by far the most interesting and bitterly contested by polls ever in the state. It is none other than the big separate Telangana issue that was the main reason behind the by polls. For KCR, these polls are a do or die battle. The future of KCR as well as that of the TRS hinges on the results of the by polls.
The exit polls have not exactly pleased KCR. Even the pre-poll surveys reported that the TRS was sure to lose some seats.
According to the exit poll results, the TRS may retain about 10 assembly seats from the 16 that it held before the by polls. Out of the four Lok Sabha seats, the TRS is ahead in two and neck and neck in the third seat. So here also, the TRS is set to lose one or two seats.
The ruling congress is expected to bag anywhere between three and four assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat. Even the TDP is expected to romp home with two or three assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat.
The counting will begin at 8.00 a.m. on Sunday and the results will be out in about two hours time, i.e.by 10.00 a.m. Till then the guessing game continues and the leaders are all tensed up.
Actor Bipasha Basu is known to maintain a very clean and suave image in public. However, in private she appears to be quite the opposite. She walked into a restaurant in a five star hotel and bought dome eatables. She later sat in her car and started eating the food items. As soon as she finished eating, she started throwing the leftovers and the boxes and wrappers one by one on the road. Th passers by were aghast at the lack of civic sense and decency by Bipasha Basu.
2011/6/29 3:14:54 Prime Minister of India Dr.Manmohan Singh who has promised to meet the press at least once a week to brief his Government’s activities, holds a press meet today as he promised. He gave a quite surprise to them by stating that he is ready to come under Lok Pal bill, for which Civic Society members and the UPA Government is having a tug of war.
He said “I personally have no objection to come under Lok Pal bill. But, it is Parliament which has to decide about it. I don’t think there is any confusion in bringing the Lok Pal bill. We are abide by our word and bound to wipe of corruption.”
2008/4/16 8:05:13 The election commission has finally drawn up the schedule for the by polls to the seats vacated by the TRS and for Khairatabad where the vacancy has been caused by the untimely death of PJR. The polls will be held on May 29. The nomination process will commence from March 2. The results will be announced on June 1.
So it is going to be a 'really hot' summer this year. The congress party and the TDP have only something to gain but nothing much to lose. The polls are an acid test for KCR as the onus of getting all the MLAs and MPs who resigned recently elected once again rests on him. There is a strong resistance to some of the candidates from within the party.
Act on complaints or face action, Mayor to officials
2012/2/22 6:35:01 GHMC Mayor Mohammed Majid Hussain on Wednesday warned of severe action if the officials fail to act on the complaints lodged by the common people.
The Mayor said that that he would issue a circular to all the heads of the field level officers at the circle level to be present in the office, especially in between 3 to 5 pm to receive the public representations and to hear their general grievances pertaining to various civic issues and to give top priority in solving their problems.
Majid Hussain conducted a surprise inspection in the Central Zone on Wednesday and inspected citizen service centre and observed the premises was untidy and dirty. He directed the officials to maintain proper cleanliness as the general public uses this service centre to represent their grievances. He also directed the officials to provide drinking water facility. He has visited Town Planning Section and enquired about the pending court cases, stay orders and directed them to clear the pending cases on war footing cases.
The Mayor also inspected Engineering wing, Taxation wing, Urban Community Wing and Audit Section in the Central Zone. He instructed the Town planning officials to be more vigilant before the unauthorized constructions take place rather than going for demolition after completion of the building.
Majid Hussain also announced that there would be no parking fee in the GHMC offices. (INN)
2012/3/18 18:51:55 Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party was ready to face mid-term elections in the country.
Addressing a press conference here at the State BJP Headquarters at Nampally, Venkaiah Naidu said that although the BJP was not demanding mid-terms polls, but it was gearing up to face the same. Describing Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as a 'wingless bird', he said that the UPA-2 has completely failed on all fronts.
Venkaiah Naidu said that the Centre's UPA-2 Government has become so weak that it was unable to implement any decision on its own. He said that Central Government was being forced to rollback its decisions fearing withdrawal of support by its allies. The government is unable to implement its decisions on the Railway Budget, NCTC, petrol prices or cotton prices due to the pressure of its allies.
The BJP leader said that although there were no immediate chances of mid-term polls, but the party was ready to face them whenever they happen. He said all anti-Congress parties were welcome to join the National Democratic Alliance.
Speaking about the Union Budget, Venkaiah Naidu said that the Centre has allocated only Rs 22,000 crore for the agriculture sector which was not sufficient. He said that it was due to centre's negligence that the agriculture, as a profession, has lost its shine and became a non-profitable business.
Venkaiah Naidu said that the two per cent hike in Service Tax and Excise Duty would eventually lead to increase in prices of several essential commodities and other products. (INN)
The crucial by polls in Kadapa and Pulivendula will be held tomorrow. The situation in Kadapa is tense and the election commission has pressed into service a large number of police personnel in all the places in the two constituencies.
DGP Aravinda Rao stated that all arrangements are in place to conduct polls in a free and fair manner. Additional police forces are being brought in from Tamil Nadu and Kerala to be deployed in Kadapa.
TRS chief K Chandra Shekar Rao claims that the state will go to elections early next year. KCR predicted that there world be snap polls to the state assembly in March 2008. Elections are due only in 2009 but even some congressmen do not rule out advancement of polls in the state.
The film 'Bathukamma' with Sindhu Tulani in the lead role is now ready to hit the screens on May 1. The timing of the release coincides with the by polls to the seats vacated by the TRS in Telangana. KCR is known to back anything that's even remotely connected to Telangana.
The film is about the rich culture and tradition of Telangana. Will KCR promote the film in a big way by asking his cadre to patronize it? Will he use the film as part of his election campaign to tap the Telangana sentiment among the people in the region?? The producers are hopeful that the film would do well at the box office.
2008/6/3 5:54:56 With the by polls out of the way, the attention has now turned on the coming assembly elections. The prospect of Chiranjeevi launching his party also seems to be a reality now.
Jeevitha and Rajashekar are in the limelight ever since some supporters of Chiranjeevi attacked them for their comments on Chiru and his soon to be launched party.
Jeevitha has been more vocal than Rajashekar in this issue. There is even some talk that she is now ready to take a plunge into active politics.
Jeevitha is ready to take on even Chiranjeevi in the elections. She is ready to contest against Chiranjeevi as the congress party candidate. The prospect of such a duel is what the news hungry media needs.
All these things point out to some very exciting times ahead for the people of Andhra Pradesh.
2012/3/16 7:18:10 Chief Electoral officer Banwarlal on Friday stated that the Election Commission has set up 660 polling booths in seven assembly segments where by-elections would be held on March 18.
Briefing the media about the arrangements for the by-elections, he said that the Commission has taken all measures for the conduct of polls in a free and fair manner by voters. Apart from imposing ban on exit poll surveys, the commission has also imposed ban on electronic media over the campaigns. The commission has also imposed a ban on sending bulk SMS for the next 48 hours, he said.
Bhanwarlal said that the commission has also imposed ban on sale of liquor till the completion of polling. He said that the commission has seized Rs 9 crore cash from the poll-bound areas. He warned that the commission would take stern action the officials who indulge in poll irregularities and try to influence the voters through money or liquor. (INN)
2011/6/16 5:38:52 Information and Public Relation Minister D K Aruna on Thursday said that the government is willing to conduct the elections for Panchayat Raj institutions, contrary to reports stating that the stay on the polls by a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has given the ruling Congress a lifeline.
Talking to media persons after attending the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat, Ms Aruna asserted that the government was willing to conduct the polls for the PR Institutions, in response to calls for clarifications on the High Court ruling.
Asked to clarify the government stand on the High Court’s recent ruling striking down GO 128 in respect of the quota for BCs, the Minister said that the government was in favour of PR elections in the light of Apex Court’s Order that the ceiling of 50 percent be observed.
Earlier, she made clear that the state Cabinet did not discuss on GO 128 at all. “The government is for polls at any time,” Ms Aruna said.
Meanwhile, official sources say that the government has another month’s time, till July 21, to arrive at a decision to go ahead with the said polls.(INN)
2011/12/16 7:49:54 The elections for the local bodies including municipalities and municipal corporations would be held by March 31.
This was announced by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister M Maheedhar Reddy while talking to reporters on the sidelines of two-days Collectors Conference at Jubilee Hall here on Thursday. He said that the government has decided to conduct the elections for all local bodies by March 31. However, he said that the government was not ready to conduct simultaneous elections for newly formed municipalities with the existing ones due to some technical reasons.
The Minister said that the government would make a detailed announcement in this regard in the next three to four days after convening a meeting with the officials concerned. (INN)
2008/5/12 2:09:34 The ensuing by polls are turning out to be a big source of worry and headache to the TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao. Many TRS activist themselves are saying of the record that the party will not be able to retain all the 16 assembly seas and the four parliament seats.
The reasons for the setback are being put squarely at the door of KCR. He is being blamed to have forced the MLAs to quit and go in for fresh polls. Many TRS MLAs have a pos rerecord as legislators in the last fours years. The people in their consistencies are none to happy with their track record.
KCR’s highhandedness and internal bickering will cost the party dearly, say some senior TRS men. By current indications, the TRS is facing an uphill task in two Lok Sabha and eight assembly constituencies i.e. in 50 percent of the seats.
2011/10/27 8:17:18 The Lok Satta Party is planning to launch a united, non-partisan movement against arbitrary increase in property tax in municipalities.
In-charges of Lok Satta municipal committees, who met at the party headquarters here on Thursday with party Working President DVVS Varma in the chair, felt that the tax increase ranging from 500 to 1000 percent without any improvement in citizen services contravenes the Government’s own Assessment of Taxes Rules, 1990.
Participants pointed out that special officers, now ruling civic bodies in the absence of elected representatives, raised the tax capriciously. They cited an instance in which the tax on an apartment was raised from Rs.3000 to Rs.80000.
In a joint statement, Lok Satta leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao and K Omkar said that a Lok Satta Party team would visit municipal towns and cities in the first week of November to mobilize the public for an agitation. It would associate local chambers of commerce, ratepayers’ associations, resident welfare associations and other civic society representatives with the planned movement.
The party demands that the civic bodies improve their services in tune with the citizen’s charter and fix the property tax on a rational basis.
The Lok Satta Party would call for a ‘no-tax campaign’ if the authorities went ahead with the hike in the property tax without improving services concerning drinking water, sanitation, education, healthcare and roads. If the services are not commensurate with the tax paid, people can legitimately refuse to pay the tax, said Katari Srinivasa Rao. (INN)
2012/2/4 2:41:35 The Indian Administrative Services officials on Friday registered protest against the arrest of IAS officials by the Central Bureau of Investigation in various scams in the State.
Nearly 70 serving IAS officials met Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy at his camp office at Begumpet on Friday evening. The officials complained that they were being made scapegoat in the cases. They contended that all major decisions are taken by the State Cabinet and the IAS officials simply implement them. Therefore, it was wrong on the part of the probing agencies to hold IAS officials responsible for any wrong doings.
Talking to media persons after meeting the Chief Minister, IAS Officers Association representative Prashant Mahapatra said that the CBI should have enquired about the powers and limitations that the IAS officials enjoy in taking major decision. Therefore, he alleged, that the CBI arrested the IAS officials in different cases without doing its homework. He said the IAS officials have discharged their duties as per the law.
2011/5/31 20:59:07 Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has become news maker overnight with his announcement to start indefinite hunger strike demanding action against corruption and to unearth black money from Swiss Banks. UPA Government which is already is troubling with Civic Society members who demands to bring Prime Minister into Jan Lok Pal Bill circle, is now worried with Baba Ramdev’s announcement.
Dr.Manmohan Singh not only wrote a letter to him asking him not to start his hunger strike but also sends Sudheer, Chairman of Central Board of direct Taxes to take his suggestions for unearthing the black money and to explain him about the measures taken to avert/control the corruption. Union Minister Pranab Mukharji is also in constant touch with Baba Ramdev.
Baba Ramdev also differs with Civic Society members’ demands. He said “Some posts like Prime Minister of India, President of India and Chief Justice of India carries high respects and dignity among the people. Hence, such people shouldn’t be expected to bring into Jan Lok Pal Bill range. They hold high offices in the country. I don’t understand how the Civic Society members are demanding to bring them into Bill range.
However, Aravind Kejriwal one of the members of the society said “If Prime Minister is excluded from Lok Pal Bill, then all the people who works under his 10 departments will also escapes from Lok Pal range. So, we will meet Ramdev Baba and explain him about the technicalities of this point.”
2012/4/17 4:00:51 Srikakulam, April 17 (INN): Chief Electoral Officer Banwar Lal on Tuesday stated that the Election Commission of India is likely to announce the notification for conducting by-elections to 18 Assembly segments and one Parliament segment in the State within next 10 days.
Talking to media persons during his visit to the district to review preparedness of officials for the ensuing by-elections, he said that the Commission could issue the by-election notification at any time in the next 10 days. He said that all the District Collectors and police officials in the respective constituencies have been asked to gear up for the by-elections.
Stating that the Collectors have been asked to update the voters' list for the ensuing by-elections, he said that the Commission would act tough against those who lure the voters with money and by distributing liquor in the elections.
He said the Commission would not spare anyone and take serious action as per the existing laws.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday asked officials to make all preparations for the soon-to-be-held municipal elections. He also asked them to finalise the staffing pattern of the newly constituted Municipalities within three days.
(IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday reiterated that it was prepared for mid-term general elections and exuded confidence of winning over 200 parliamentary seats on its own.
Prime Minister of India Dr.Manmohan Singh who has promised to meet the press at least once a week to brief his Government’s activities, holds a press meet today as he promised. He gave a quite surprise to them by stating that he is ready to come under Lok Pal bill, for which Civic Society members and the UPA Government is having a tug of war.
Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party was ready to face mid-term elections in the country.
The Lok Satta Party is planning to launch a united, non-partisan movement against arbitrary increase in property tax in municipalities.
Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has become news maker overnight with his announcement to start indefinite hunger strike demanding action against corruption and to unearth black money from Swiss Banks. UPA Government which is already is troubling with Civic Society members who demands to bring Prime Minister into Jan Lok Pal Bill circle, is now worried with Baba Ramdev’s announcement. 
