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Friday, June 27, 2008

 

Goud to spice up T with social justice

Though there are no signs of any leaders of other political parties of consequence joining T Devender Goud, scores of university professors and grassroot level workers, mostly from the TDP and TRS, are likely to join forces with him.
According to sources, Goud is planning to add social justice to his separate Telangana state slogan to give the movement a social objective as well. This will herald a new phase in the fight for a separate Telangana state in the region, the sources said. “Never in the past have protagonists of the Telangana movement shown the people what they can achieve if a separate state is ever formed,” said the sources.
Goud, for the past two days, has been holding discussions with professors of Osmania and Kakatiya universities and some researchers of CESS in Hyderabad and other sympathisers of Telangana to chalk out a twin programme of separate state and social justice.
Already, People’s Telangana Foundation, a body of teachers of Osmania University, has passed a resolution endorsing the policies of Goud, expressed in his first press conference.
Goud’s first interface with the people on Saturday is expected to be dominated by professors, lawyers and other professionals along with several district level leaders who are basically the foot soldiers for all political parties.
The interface, being organised as a preparatory for the launch of his new party, is going to provide the ideological foundation of the proposed outfit. “The meeting is expected to redefine the Telangana movement in terms of social justice. This concept is expected to broadbase the Telangana movement with widespread participation of masses. This is a departure from the conventional sense of Telangana movement,” professor S Simhadri, convernor of the foundation.
The convention, being held at Pingali Venkatrama Reddy Hall, will be inaugurated by prof K Jaishankar, a Telangana ideologue, and addressed by intellectuals and district level leaders who joined Goud recently. Goud will leave for the venue after paying tributes to martyrs of Telangana at the memorial opposite the state assembly on Saturday morning. “Goud will spell out the his road map for his movement in his concluding remarks,”

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Congress unease on N-deal comes to the fore

Congress remains uneasy over the prospect of having to face early polls because of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's determined push for the nuclear deal in defiance of the Left.
The unease in the party as well as UPA allies reflected on Friday in the comment of UPA troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee who, while expressing the Centre's interest in the deal, said, "We know about the time constraint but we have to keep in mind the concerns expressed by different sections."
The reply at a press conference was in conformity with the aversion in the party and among UPA partners over the possibility of facing the electorate earlier than May 2009 when Lok Sabha polls are scheduled.
They also underscored the gap between the thinking of Prime Minister’s Office, on the one hand, and that of the Congress establishment and allies on the other.
The PM has doggedly stressed the need for the government to approach the IAEA immediately for the ratification of safeguards agreement, arguing that the clock was ticking away for the landmark deal with the US.
Sources said even as the leadership is charting out a separation plan and preparing for life beyond Left with the support of SP, it has not given up efforts to end the standoff with Left. The certainty of the Left walking out of the alliance with UPA in the event of the Centre defying its veto on approaching IAEA has put the leadership in a bind. While an optimistic Congress has put in motion a process to mop up numbers in Lok Sabha, starting with opening a line with Samajwadi Party, there is now a realisation that it may be an extremely risky proposition in the face of its rivals readying its numbers to vote against it.
Left's announcement to vote even with the BJP was followed on Friday by the announcement of BJP's PM candidate L K Advani that his party would seek a special session to force the Manmohan Singh government to take a floor test if Left fell out with the UPA. BSP leader Mayawati, having just withdrawn support to UPA after a volley of accusations ranging from political to personal, is unlikely to be seen with Congress anymore. The fast-adding numbers on the rival side would turn the confidence test a walk on the razor's edge for the UPA, rendering it vulnerable to arm-twisting by new allies even if it survives by a whisker. Senior Congress leaders, however, admit that passing the test without Left's support would be extremely difficult.
Congress's reluctance for early polls is in total sync with wariness of UPA allies who have told Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that bringing forward the polls could prove to be a misadventure.
Allies are apprehensive that double-digit inflation and the string of defeats which has led to negativity around Congress would be a major handicap in any immediate test of the popular pulse. The message was conveyed when the allies called on Sonia, after the PM raised the nuclear ante again to trigger hectic political activities.
What is of key concern to the allies is the doubt that the nuclear issue does not have much of a resonance with the masses. A senior UPA partner wondered if the nuke pact would have an impact on them to give an advantage for "their sacrifice for national interests''. The AICC and the allies are on the same page on this.
The UPA constituents are keen to hammer home the point that Left could not be offended to the point of making the differences irreconciliable for future politics. While saying that the same held true for the comrades, a leader said the "middle way'' could be to delay the divorce as long as possible. The PM, for his part, remains unrelenting in his advocacy for the early conclusion of the deal. Sources quoted him telling an important visitor earlier this week that he could not compromise since the issue involved "national interest".

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Monday, June 23, 2008

 

Karat turns to Karuna

Chennai/New Delhi: Caught between the tough lines they have pursued on the nuclear deal, both Congress and Left have now turned to the allies to mediate to save the coalition from a seemingly irreconciliable situation.
A day after DMK boss and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi warned that the BJP could return to power exploiting the differences in the ruling combine, CPM chief Prakash Karat and CPI secretary D Raja met him in Chennai on Sunday pleading for his intervention to break the impasse. “On behalf of the Left parties, we have requested him to intervene in this problem and see how things can be resolved,” Karat later told reporters. He said it was befitting for Karunanidhi to play the mediatory role since he was the senior-most leader of the UPA. Karunanidhi, according to sources, told the Left leaders to adhere to the middle path while agreeing to come to Delhi in the coming week to help the two sides bridge the differences. Karnanidhi said on Saturday, “We have a duty to resolve the differences between the Congress and the Left parties in the interests of the nation.” He further said that the UPA-Left alliance should be strengthened for the sake of the prosperity and growth of India, reports from Chennai had said.
The peace talks are expected to focus on how to reconcile the PM’s insistence on approaching the IAEA for ratification of the safeguards agreement with the Left’s resolute refusal to let the government do that. The PM has said that the government must complete its business with IAEA for the country’s credibility. He and others in the UPA have tried to tell the Left that they can put the process on the pause mode, thus, meeting Left’s condition that the deal is not operationalised.
The Left, however, insists that this must be backed up by a public undertaking of sorts which the government is loathe to give. The government’s argument is that a public declaration can hardly enhance India’s credibility as a reliable interlocutor — the reason for which the PM wants to go to the IAEA.
India To Lobby With NSG
July and September are emerging as key months in the nuclear deal calendar that has been worked out between foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee and key officials. India is likely to start lobbying in earnest with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for an exemption by July. The PM wants to kick off the effort at the G8 summit itself. That will be a formal opening of negotiations on the NSG. Nuclear deal: Manmohan firm, Left stubborn
Chennai/New Delhi: Bridging the differences between the UPA and the Left parties over the nuclear deal is going to be tough as CPM doesn’t seem interested in letting the government survive for long in any case. But neither the Congress leadership nor the Left can allow the deterioration in ties to move beyond a point because of the imperatives of the coalition era which may knock them into a political alliance after the next Lok Sabha polls.
The allies are likely to explore whether the assurance from the government that it would let the ball rest at the IAEA will be acceptable to the Left if it is underwritten by senior leaders like Karunanidhi, Sharad Pawar and Lalu Prasad.
Despite the worrying inflation figures and the hardening of Left’s posture, the PM has not wavered on his keenness to go to the IAEA. He has always maintained that the deal was in national interest and there was no reason for the government and the Congress to be apologetic about it. “If it is a good deal, it is a good deal,” he is learnt to have recently told one of his colleagues.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi agrees with him but will not like to press headlong into a confrontation with the Left despite the buffer that has been tied up with the Samajwadi Party. Congress is worried that a rupture on this issue will so embitter the ties that the two sides may find it difficult to collaborate even on the ground of “secularism”.
The fear is based on the certainty that the CPM would cite the deal as a sign of Congress’s capitulation to the US, leaving the former with little option but to retaliate by publicising its suspicion that the CPM and the Left could be playing “China’s game”.
To further the peace overtures, Sonia is expected to consult allies like Pawar and others who are talking to the Left to avert early elections. While Pawar has been active trying for a compromise between the two sides, Karunanidhi’s visit to Delhi is expected to further push the process as he has good equations with senior leaders of the CPM and CPI.
“He embarked on a similar role in the past and he is going to play a crucial role in the current crisis as well,” DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said confirming the CM’s visit to the Capital.
In a quick stock-taking, the Congress leadership has considered the pros and cons of inking the deal at the cost of the government at this stage and is of the view that the 123 agreement could give a boost to its flagging prospects in elections after a series of defeats.
Arguing against clinging to power for a few more months by sacrificing the deal, a prominent member of the pro-deal lobby said, “Anyway there will be elections in four states in November; what will be the government’s status if Congress suffers reverses again?”

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Chrianjeevi's New Party -- Fans Meet

Progressive Telugu Forum invites you to Chrianjeevi Fans Meeting in Irving,TX and participate in dicussion of the following topics:

* Necessity for Chiranjeevi to form a new political party to serve Telugu people, considering the prevailing social, political, and economical conditions

* The ideal objectives and policies the proposed new party should endeavor to fulfill in various sectors, such as education, agriculture, IT, et cetera

* How can we contribute to the efforts of Chiranjeevi in achieving the proposed party's objectives


Please forward this invitation to all interested persons. and encourage them to be a part of Chiru phenomenon, which is expected to change the AP political landscape.

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Devender Goud Resigns From TDP

Senior TDP Leader Devender Goud, resigned from Telugu Desam Party today, giving all answers to the negligence shown on him, by TDP leaders including Chandrababu Naidu on the account of TDP support to Telangana Issue.

It will be a great loss for TDP, as Devender Goud is strong leader from the party in Telangana Region.

On the other hand TRS Leader Harish Rao, welcomes Devender Goud’s resignation, claiming it as Telangana’s victory.

Congress Senior party leader Venkataswamy also welcomed same, and even addressed, his party men may also do the same thing, if need arises to protest for Telangana.

Meanwhile PeddiReddy, other TDP Leader also followed Devender Goud’s footsteps. Other TDP leaders Kadium Srihari and Gutta Sukhender Reddy from Telangana Region are hoping Chandrababu naidu may rethink his stand on Telangana issue, otherwise he may encounter same type of acts from them also.

It is known to everybody that Devender Goud is the only leader fighting for Telangana Cause in TDP from so many days, inspite of opposition from other region leaders.

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

 

A Choice Between Politics, Progeny in India

Four years ago, the villagers of Pinkapar gathered under a tree and urged a shy, veiled, lower-caste woman, Vijaykumari Markande, to run for a seat on the village council. She declined, saying she lacked the confidence required to be a politician. But the villagers persisted because they had to elect a lower- caste woman that year under a law mandating that one-third of all local council members be women and members of lower castes. They finally persuaded Markande to run. She entered the race and won, becoming a sarpanch, the head of the village council. But Markande had to deal with a differe

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Through the Elections, Brokaw Will Do M.T.P.

Our sib-blog, TV Decoder, has just posted an item about Tom Brokaw taking on “Meet the Press” duties in the wake of Tim Russert’s death earlier this month. Mr. Brokaw will assume the role through the November elections.

He said in a statement:

“I’ve been appearing on ‘Meet the Press’ since the days of Watergate when it was moderated by Lawrence E. Spivak right through the distinguished tenure of my great friend, Tim Russert, so I feel right at home.

“Tim made ‘Meet the Press’ the center of the universe for informative and lively discussions of public affairs, particularly the exciting 2008 campaign for president, and I intend to continue that commitment to our viewers.”

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