Governor hails YSR tenure
Citing indicators: Governor N. D. Tiwari addressing joint session of the legislature in Hyderabad on Monday.
HYDERABAD:
Governor N. D. Tiwari has presented a rosy picture about the Rajasekhara Reddy government’s performance, hailing its tenure as “glorious years in State’s history”, of course, citing various economic indicators.
Addressing a joint meeting of the Legislature on the first day of its 10-day budget session of the Assembly, on Monday, he said the government had fulfilled all promises made in the Governor’s address in 2004, achieving highest economic growth of 8.96 per cent, during the period, as against 5.7 per cent in 1994-04.
The Governor read the 37-page address amid frequent din caused by the Opposition members who tore the text copies and threw the pieces towards him protesting the claims. The Treasury benches resorted to desk-thumping at the mention of achievements, like ‘Jalayagnam’ and ‘Aarogyasri’. Mr. Tiwari spoke of how farm sector growth reached 7.13 per cent, pushing up food grains production to a peak of 198.17 lakh tonnes by 2007-08. Owing to the impact of global slowdown, the State, was now seeking Rs 4,775-crore of market borrowings, Mr. Tiwari stated.
Praja Rajyam stronger than TRS in Telangana, says YSR
HYDERABAD:
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Monday asserted that the ‘grand alliance’ by the Opposition would not have any impact on the Congress’ prospects in Telangana as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), hitherto perceived as a dominant force in the region, has become ‘non-existent’ now.
The Chief Minister claimed that a major chunk of TRS’ vote-bank shifted to the Praja Rajyam (PR) as the people lost faith in the TRS leadership. “This will benefit the Congress which is set to come back to power again,” he said. Dr. Reddy made these comments during an informal chat with reporters in the Assembly lobbies here.
Voters in constituencies like Husnabad, Nerella and Ramagundam in Karimnagar district, seen as TRS strongholds, moved to PR while the party’s base in other districts was eroding fast, he said. In Nizamabad, for instance, the overall vote share of TRS was around 4.5 per cent, barring Dichpalli where the TRS was expected to give a tough fight.
When reminded about the demand from Congress leaders that party high command announce its decision on Telangana before elections, he said the leadership had clarified that Telangana was very much alive in its thought process.“I don’t express my views on Telangana,” was his reply to repeated queries on his stand on the issue. The Congress was a strong force in Telangana districts, including Khammam where the CPI(M) lost significant ground “thanks to its local MLA from the district”.
Kapus’ migration
Dr. Reddy discounted the impact of PR in coastal Andhra claiming the party would get 8 to 10 seats in the three North Coastal districts and TDP would manage three or four. Migration of a section of Kapus to Praja Rajyam would not have any impact on the Congress’ prospects.
The TDP, Dr. Reddy said, was not in a position to open its account in three Rayalaseema districts, barring Anantapur. When asked whether the Congress was sensing defeat of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said: “Losing one seat in Chittoor will not make any difference.”
Judicial employees thank government
Kakinada:
Andhra Pradesh Judicial Class IV Employees’ Association thanked the government for agreeing to revise the pay scales of all judicial employees as per the recommendation of Justice K Jagannadha Setty Commission. Association’s Kakinada unit president P Nageswara Rao said in a press release that the judicial Class IV employees were also thankful to East Godavari district judge K Krishna Mohan Reddy for promoting 32 Class IV employees to their next higher categories on the basis of their merits and qualifications.
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