Jagan pokes the Congress

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy literally mocked at the Congress – the party he left early this month – by publicly parading at least 24 MLAs, four MLCs and an MP at his 48-hour hunger-strike camp on the banks of river Krishna in Vijayawada in the last two days. With this, Jagan sought to prove that it was indeed he who was in control of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh and threw a challenge at the party high command daring it to take action against its members who sided with him. Three MLAs from Praja Rajyam Party and an MLA suspended from the Telugu Desam also stood by Jagan at the so-called Lakshya Deeksha, hunger-strike for farmers. This brazen “show of strength” by Jagan has left his parent party totally shaken. Disarray will only be a mild word to describe the situation in the Congress circles in Hyderabad as the party MLAs so publicly sat with Jagan and spit venom at their own government. In fact, Congress leaders here did not even muster the courage to react to the situation as the number of legislators joining Jagan increased. “The party high command will look into it and take an appropriate decision,” was the only reaction by Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman N Tulasi Reddy. While state Health Minister D L Ravindra Reddy termed the Congress MLAs’ participation in the former MP’s fast as “unethical,” former minister Gade Venkat Reddy did not see anything wrong in it. “Jagan was trying to highlight the plight of farmers to the government. The MLAs only extended their solidarity but never said they will leave Congress,” Venkat Reddy said. While the Vijayawada development will not in any way affect the TDP, the PRP is certain to be worried as a few more of its MLAs are tilting towards Jagan. Will the Congress high command display the gall and act against its unruly MLAs is a puzzle for now.

Kiran Kumar Reddy: Driver without the steering in hand

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy may have been seated in the driver’s (Chief Minister) seat but it is the Congress bosses in New Delhi who will actually hold all the controls of his vehicle (Andhra Pradesh government). A clear set of do’s and don’ts has been prescribed for Kiran Kumar to steer the government in a way to resurrect the Congress in the state through strict implementation of the schemes promised in the election manifesto. “It is only a move by the high command to resurrect Congress’ party in the state with trouble lurking in the form of Y S Jagan and Telangana. It is essentially to let Kiran Kumar focus primarily on governance and not let troubles, from any quarter, bog him down,” a top Congress leader and key government functionary maintained. Significantly, state Governor E S L Narasimhan is also being actively involved in the governance to lend stability to government. The Congress high command reportedly issued certain “guidelines” to the Chief Minister to be followed scrupulously. As per the guidelines, the Chief Minister will have to take any major policy decision only in consultation with the Pradesh Congress Committee president. The Chief Minister will have to tour at least two districts every week to improve mass contact and closely monitor implementation of the government programmes. While Kiran Kumar will have to submit a weekly performance report to state Governor Narasimhan and AICC president Sonia Gandhi, the Governor will in turn forward the report to the Union Home Secretary. State Chief Secretary S V Prasad and Director General of Police K Aravinda Rao have reportedly been directed to brief the Governor every week on the government’s performance in general and law and order in particular. Review of law and order by the Governor assumes significance as there is apprehension of trouble by separatist elements after the five-member Justice Srikrishna Committee submits its report to the Centre on the statehood issue. The Chief Minister has also been asked by the high command to have “constant and close co-ordination” with the party’s Manifesto Implementation Committee to ensure effective implementation of the flagship programmes. This makes Kiran Kumar’s task tough as the Congress government could not so far implement the three main promises it made in the 2009 election manifesto: extending free power supply to agriculture sector from seven to nine hours a day, enhancing the Rs 2-a-kg rice quota from 20 to 30 kilos a month to all below poverty line families and uninterrupted power supply to all sectors. While severe funds crunch did not allow the government to enhance the rice quota to 30 kilos a month, the acute power scarcity faced by the state forced it delay implementation of the other two promises. “We have sought Central assistance for the rice scheme but there has been no response from them yet. We could not generate additional electricity in tune with the growing demand because of which the promises related to power may not be kept in the immediate future,” a top government source pointed out. While these may be some worrying factors for the new Chief Minister, he can take comfort in the Congress high command’s assurance on party-related issues: “Look to us for any damage control.” In fact, the Congress high command appointed a six-member party sub-committee to exclusively handle AP affairs. That should make Kiran feel comfortable in the saddle for some time.

Tough times for new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Barely five days into his office, cricketer-turned-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy finds himself on a sticky wicket.

The “doosra” bowled by rebel Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today caught Kiran off-guard, though he hasn’t lost his wicket yet.

Kiran’s stay at the crease doesn’t appear to be an easy task, now that Jagan’s followers are ready to bowl more googlies and bouncers at him.

Congress sources indicated that at least 28 MLAs have solidly pledged their support to Jagan and offered to resign while another seven to eight are also keen to follow suit.

For the record, however, Jagan appealed to Congress MLAs not to quit their posts “for me.”

“Wherever you are, your love and affection are enough for me. Please do not resign from your posts for me,” Jagan appealed in the open letter he addressed to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

In reality, however, Jagan is all set to split the Congress and dislodge the Kiran Kumar Reddy government, his campers aver.

“Wait for two more days and see what happens,” said a first-time MLA and Jagan loyalist, who interestingly camped in New Delhi in the last three days lobbying for a Cabinet berth.

The Jagan camp claims at least four members of Lok Sabha, 36 MLAs and half-a-dozen members of Legislative Council are now behind Jagan. “Four to five MLAs from Praja Rajyam Party will also join hands with us soon,” the rebel leader’s campers claim.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, upon his return from New Delhi, discussed the fallout of Jagan’s resignation with several former ministers and MLAs at the Lake View Guest House. Anxiety was writ large on the legislators’ face as they discussed Jagan’s resignation.

“If the Jagan group’s claim of having the support of 35-36 MLAs is true, Kiran’s government will certainly be in soup. The numbers will not add up even if the Praja Rajyam Party (18 MLAs) and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (seven MLAs) support the government. In the event, the 11-member Telangana Rashtra Samiti’s support becomes inevitable,” a former minister and senior MLA analysed.

The TRS will support the Congress only if statehood is granted for Telangana. This is unlikely in the prevailing circumstances.

It is still unclear if the four MPs, including Union Minister of State A Sai Pratap (Rajampet), Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy (Nellore), Undavalli Arunkumar (Rajahmundry) and Sabbam Hari (Anakapalle), who are sworn loyalists of Jagan, too will step down in solidarity with him. Jagan campers maintain that there was “no need” for the MPs to resign.

Microfinance Institutions' dubious ploy!

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Having been caught on the wrong side of the law for adopting “illegal and inhuman business practices” in Andhra Pradesh, the microfinance institutions (MFIs) are now trying to “legitimize” their activities by seeking to join hands with the state government “to provide sustainable financial services to poor women” even as the Union Finance Ministry is said to be keen on involving the money-lending agencies in the government’s anti-poverty programmes. Though the Government of India has not taken a formal decision in this regard yet, it has informally sounded the state governments much before the current controversy involving the MFIs broke out in Andhra Pradesh, highly-placed official sources said. “In fact, such a proposal first came from the external funding agencies like World Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The World Bank and the IFAD recommended to the states, which have been borrowing money from them, to involve MFIs in poverty reduction programmes. The Government of India is probably trying to implement the World Bank agenda,” a top bureaucrat pointed out. But, IAS officer V P Jauhari, who retired as Special Chief Secretary to government and led an inquiry into the activities of MFIs in the state, cautioned in his report against involving MFIs in government programmes. In fact, he suggested that the state government alert the Government of India as well as the Reserve Bank of India about the “illegal and unethical practices” being adopted by the MFIs. “This will help other states learn from the sad experiences of AP,” he added. It was during former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure that the World Bank first came up with the proposal when the state government was desperately seeking funds from the Bank for the ambitious Jalayagnam (irrigation projects) programme. “Andhra Pradesh is one of the major borrowers from the World Bank. One of the recommendations, apart from a few pre-conditions of the World Bank, was enhancing the role of MFIs in rural credit distribution and their involvement in government programmes. Though the government did not concede the demand immediately for involving the MFIs in its programmes, it did help them expand their operations rapidly in the last few years,” the bureaucrat said. Micro Finance Institutions Network president Vijay Mahajan wrote a letter to the state Principal Secretary (Rural Development) R Subrahmanyam promising to “extend all cooperation to the Government of Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to provide credit to rural poor women.” One of the proposals mooted by the MFIN is the establishment of a state-wide health insurance programme in concert with the state government’s Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty. “This programme will be complementary to the Rajiv Aarogyasri health insurance scheme (of the state government),” Vijay Mahajan said in the letter. Official sources said the government has not yet taken a decision in this regard. “We are considering the proposals put forth by MFIN but our main focus now is on regulating the MFIs’ activities and rescuing the hapless borrowers,” a senior official of the Rural Development Department said.

Hyderabad Runners for Athens Marathon

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: “Hyderabad Runners” have headed for Athens, the ancient Greek city, to take part in the historic Athens Classic Marathon on October 31. The 2010 Athens Classic Marathon celebrates its 28 years, along with the celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Marathon Battle that marks the victory of the Greeks against the Persians during the Marathon Battle in 490 BC. The event is being held in the city of Marathonas to commemorate the historic occasion. More than 15,000 runners from across the globe have registered for the event this year, given the historic significance. Of the 34 runners registered from India, 18 are from Hyderabad alone. Individual runners from Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi are also going to take part in the event. The Hyderabad Runners have left for Athens in the last two days to reach Athens in time for the event and also get acclimatised to the local conditions. The marathoners from the city, most of them amateurs, have formed into the “Hyderabad Runners” group that promotes running in an injury-free and safe environment. While the average age of those taking part in the Athens Classic Marathon from Hyderabad is 36, the oldest of them is 63-year-old Hariharan who works with Sriram Life Insurance, followed by 62-year-old retired chartered accountant Anand. Four women, including 48-year-old home-maker Rama Vijaya and 40-year-old fitness trainer Sunita Tummalapalli, are also among the group. All of them will run the full marathon of 42.19 km. “I have taken part earlier in the Puducherry marathon and the Athens one will be my first international event,” Sunita said in excitement. She, along with other members of the group, has practiced rigorously for over three months to get ready for the big event. Superintendent of Police M Ramesh, TransDyne chief executive officer Raghu Adusumilli and a senior executive Rajesh Vetcha are some of the other participants. “It’s a great feeling taking part in a historic international event. This will be my first marathon race,” Raghu said. In fact, Raghu and Rajesh encouraged many to take up running “which is a form of meditation.” “Next year, we are going to organise a half marathon (21-km run) in Hyderabad to encourage people to run,” Raghu said. Already the Hyderabad Runners group has about 70 people who did a full marathon. “We have started this informally mostly with amateurs. Now everyone is taking it seriously and more people are joining. Our endeavour is to create a safe and injury-free environment for all the runners,” Rajesh said.
ALL THE BEST, HYDERABAD RUNNERS.