Jagan Mohan Reddy taken into preventive custody on day 5 of hunger strike against Andhra Pradesh bifurcation

Mr Reddy was taken to the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences



Hyderabad: Politician Jagan Mohan Reddy, who  had been on a hunger strike  for five days to protest against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, was forcibly moved to the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) tonight after the police took him into preventive custody.

Before he was escorted away from outside his office where he has been fasting, Mr Reddy  told a large crowd of supporters "2014 will be a referendum" on the centre's decision to turn the region of Telangana into a state.

Earlier today, doctors said that the 40-year-old was severely dehydrated but he refused to end his fast.
 

In Delhi this evening, his mother, Vijayamma, met BJP president Rajnath Singh, triggering speculation that an alliance between the two parties is a work-in-progress. Recently, Mr Reddy, who was released last month from jail and is being investigated for corruption, praised the BJP's candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, as an efficient administrator. However, Mr Reddy urged the BJP leader to demonstrate his commitment to secularism.

Since Mr Reddy took charge of the YSR Congress party in 2011, he has proven that he is an emerging force in regional politics with strong performances in local elections.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that an alliance with Mr Reddy could be considered by his party after the national elections are held. But Mr Reddy has been less kind towards the party that his father belonged to.

Over the weekend, he targeted its president Sonia Gandhi for the decision to split Andhra Pradesh into two because "someone wanted their son to be Prime Minister." The reference was to her son, Rahul, and to the recurring criticism that the Congress wants to create a Telangana state for dividends in the national elections, due by May.

So Sorry: मनमोहन का टूटा 'बिग बॉस' होने का भ्रम, सारी फाइलें सोनिया गांधी के पास जाती हैं. मनमोहन सिंह बस इंतजार करते हैं!

प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह खुद को 'बिग बॉस' भले ही मानते हो लेकिन सच्‍चाई क्‍या है? देखिए इसी अहम सवाल पर आधारित 'So Sorry...'

Google survey: 40% of India's urban voters undecided, Narendra Modi most searched

New Delhi: Over 40 per cent urban Indian voters are undecided on the political party of their choice, a survey by Google India has revealed, months ahead of elections due by May. (Google survey: urban Indian voters and the internet)

The survey also reveals that Narendra Modi has emerged as the politician most searched on the Internet in the past six months. (Here are India's 10 most-searched politicians)

The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate is followed by Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and anti-corruption campaigner, Arvind Kejriwal, who debuts in the November Delhi assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is the sixth most searched politician in India.

Mr Modi's BJP also tops the list of most searched political parties. The Congress, Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and Shiv Sena are the others most searched.

Search volumes reveal that four of the top 10 politicians are from Congress, while two belong to the BJP.

The survey not only found 42% of the voters undecided, but revealed that most voters believe the local candidate is as important as the political party, in deciding who to vote for. Only 11 per cent said the Prime Ministerial candidate of a political party will play an important role in their voting decision.

Google India's survey, which studies the role of Internet in the upcoming polls, covers over 7,000 internet users in 108 constituencies; it represents 20% of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies across India.

Urban India is asking for more information on the local candidate on the Net, revealed the survey, to help them decide. Half of the undecided voters feel information on Internet is not enough.

Internet presence, felt the respondents, shows politicians as progressive and transparent leaders.

Two-thirds of the registered voters don't share their political views online, a fallout of the recent crackdown on social media posts.

Telangana crisis: Am using Italian so Centre understands, Chandrababu Naidu targets Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: Politician Chandrababu Naidu today said that since the Centre doesn't seem to understand the extent of the crisis in Andhra Pradesh, he will use Italian to explain. Mr Naidu, who heads the regional Telugu Desam Party, said that Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are "immobilismo". For those not fluent in Italian, Mr Naidu added, "Things are at a standstill. Total standstill."

His jibe is aimed at Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party, which anchors the ruling coalition at the Centre and decided last week that the process of dividing Andhra Pradesh to create a new state of Telangana must begin immediately. (Fasting and aiming at Sonia: Jagan went first, Chandrababu followed)

That move has registered high on the Richter scale, triggering huge aftershocks in the 13 districts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema which are the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh, and are collectively referred to as Seemandhra.
   

Mr Naidu began an indefinite fast in Delhi today to support the demand for a "United Andhra." However, he refused to answer a question on whether he thinks Telangana deserves statehood.

His political opponents accuse him of doublespeak, because in 2008, he wrote to the Centre supporting the movement for statehood for Telangana. In his defense, his party says he is fighting to protect Seemandhra's interests, and to oppose what they describe as the Centre's unilateral decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Naidu's decision to fast in Delhi, thousands of miles from the front line of aggressive protests in Seemandhra, is being seen as an attempt to gain credibility and dispel the impression that he is following the lead of his political rival, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who began a hunger strike in Hyderabad on Saturday.

High on the list of concerns for leaders from these areas is grappling with a future devoid of the booming economy of IT hub Hyderabad, which will be a shared capital for 10 years, but will then belong to Telangana state.

Protests against Telangana, powerless in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad:  Protests against a decision to create Telangana state have left Andhra Pradesh staring at a major power crisis. I-T city Hyderabad has been suffering power cuts since morning and several trains have been cancelled, with thousands of electricity employees staying away from work. In another city in coastal Andhra, there is a shoot-at-sight order since large-scale violence on Saturday.

Here are 10 big developments in this story:

1. Over 30,000 striking electricity employees say they will continue their protests for at least two more weeks. Their agitation has shut down six of the seven units at the power plant in Vijayawada, which meets over a third of the state's power demand.
2. The Vijayawada plant shutdown has led to a shortfall of over 3,500 megawatts, forcing authorities to resort to long power cuts in Hyderabad and several other cities. Officials even fear a collapse of the southern grid, which caters to neighbouring states.
3. "Large parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, also known as Seemandhra, have been affected by the protests and the power crisis. Reports say ATMs are not functioning in cities like Vijayawada, while several trains have been cancelled since yesterday.
4. There is a shoot-at-sight order and curfew at Vizianagaram town in coastal Andhra Pradesh after violence and arson over the weekend by anti-Telangana protesters. Protesters allegedly set a bank on fire and damaged public and private properties.
5. Some 70,000 striking government employees have not taken their salary for the past two months, ever since the ruling Congress gave in to demands for carving out Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital.
6. Telangana is one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh.  The other two - the 13 districts of Seemandhra as the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions are jointly called - are in total shutdown.
7. Factions in the Congress have alleged that the protests have the backing of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who belongs to Seemandhra and has publicly opposed the division of Andhra Pradesh. Sources have ruled out any action against Mr Reddy but say the ruling Congress is closely watching how the Chief Minister handles the crisis.
8. Sources say the Congress may have persuaded union ministers K Chiranjeevi and Pallam Raju not to press for their resignations. The two leaders, along with Kotal Surya Prakash Reddy had resigned as ministers last week to protest against Telangana.
9. Anti-Telangana protests have triggered competitive fasts by politicians. After YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, now Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has launched an indefinite fast.
10. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has accused both Mr Naidu and Jagan of changing their stand on Telangana, with an eye on polls next year. Both had been seen to be ambiguous about the proposed new state earlier as they drew their support from the non-Telangana regions.

Words may have been wrong, but sentiment wasn't: Rahul Gandhi on ordinance

Ahmedabad: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday spoke for the first time about his scathing public review of the ordinance that was introduced to protect convicted MPs.

"My mother told me that the words that I used were strong. In hindsight, I feel maybe my words were wrong... but the sentiment I felt was not wrong," the young vice-president of the Congress told reporters in Gujarat. His mother, Sonia Gandhi, is president of the Congress party. "I am entitled to voice my opinion," he said, stressing that a large section of his party supported his stand.

The government withdrew the ordinance last evening, which Mr Gandhi derided as "nonsense" that should be "torn up and thrown away" at a press conference last week that was being addressed by senior Congress leader Ajay Maken. "I told him you can't defend the indefensible," Mr Gandhi said.

Apparently referring to the criticism by the opposition and some allies that he had insulted and undermined the authority of the Prime Minister and the cabinet, Mr Gandhi asked, "Why am I being penalised for raising my voice on something that was wrong?"

"I spoke my mind on the issue, it is amazing to see reactions to it. I am flabbergasted," he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Gandhi met Dr Manmohan Singh and reportedly expressed regret for the timing and language of his critique. However, he reiterated his opposition to the controversial executive order that was seen as a naked attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court.

In July, the court barred law-makers from holding office if they are convicted in cases carrying sentences of more than two years.

Two days after her son's blunt remarks, Mrs Gandhi defended the Prime Minister at a rally in Karnataka and attacked the main opposition party, the BJP, for "making fun" of him.

"They make fun of our party, our prime minister. I want to tell them that our whole party stands behind the prime minister," she said.