Hyderabad Blues

Making Amends

It’s by- poll time in Telangana and many leaders are making use of the platform as practice laps. With the election date set for March 18 in six constituencies of Telangana and one in Kovur (Nellore district), politicians are at their thunderous best. After the High Court dismissed a disproportionate assets case against him, TD chief Chandrababu Naidu has emerged a rejuvenated politician. He’s touring all the constituencies and is making his pitch for 2014. Touching issues like free power, unemployment, the farmer, post- Godhra riots and of course Telangana, Naidu is no longer shy of rendering an apology. While he apologized to Muslim voters for having a tie-up with BJP during the 2002 Gujarat riots, elsewhere he tried to buy peace with the peasant community, admitting that some of his earlier policies were anti-farmer. Naidu is a man keen to make amends. He’s already talking of an unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 a month. TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and Naidu’s war of words has generated plenty of spice. While Naidu dubs the Telangana Rashtra Samiti as a party chasing “notes, seats and votes”, KCR calls Naidu a Shakuni and promises that the people of Telangana will bury him politically. Naidu wonders why KCR himself does not resign from his Mahabubnagar LS seat if he is so concerned about Telangana. To this, KCR has responded that he is willing to contest from any place in Telangana that Naidu picks and win with a thumping majority. As for the Congress, nobody’s asking and nobody’s expecting anything out of them, at least in these by-polls.

Friends In Need

When the Samajwadi Party stormed to power in Uttar Pradesh, both Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy were in a hurry to congratulate Akhilesh Yadav. While Naidu has for long courted Mulayam Singh Yadav for his Third Front, the Jagan camp is keen to state that Akhilesh and Jagan are “good friends” and chat with each other in Parliament. With the CBI probe shadow lurking over his head, Jagan is keen to make as many non-Congress friends as possible.

Wild Goose Chase

It was a dusty spectacle as the Archaeology Department set out on a treasure hunt in the famous Vidyaranya School of Hyderabad. On receiving a letter from a Coal India employee Rama Raju stating that there was an opening in the school’s playground possibly leading to a secret chamber, the Archaeology department set off in hot pursuit of unknown jewels. The NMDC has joined the show with its scanning equipment. The school was set up by Wanaparthy rulers and still belongs to the same family. It is believed that some treasure trove belonging to the former rulers might be buried deep inside in a bunker. While the earth-movers have been given a break owing to exams at the school, Archaeology Department officials are keen to get back into action. “Keep watching, good news awaits the State,” Archaeology Director P Chenna Reddy says with conviction as heritage activists are attacking him about the “wild goose chase” since the site is located very close to the Naubat Pahad on which Birla temple stands. And since Vidyaranya is located right opposite the State Secretariat, security concerns are being voiced as well.

Will He or Won’t He?

Will he or won’t he? Therein lies the eternal question. Chiranjeevi’s return to films is a much-debated topic among his loyal fans. Chiranjeevi set off fresh hopes among them recently at the audio release of actor-son Ram Charan Tej’s Racha. “If I were to act in my 150th film, I would like Racha’s heroine Tamanna by my side,” Chiranjeevi said with a grin as Tamanna blushed and his son laughed. After merging his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress, Chiranjeevi has bagged two ministerial posts in the government for his MLAs. Apart from a possible Rajya Sabha seat, Chiranjeevi will also be the star campaigner for the Congress in 2014 elections.

Reddygaru Poyaru

Ram Gopal Varma loves trouble and his poor quality Factory productions hit the silver screen at an alarming pace, especially in Telugu. His latest brush with controversy is in the form of a movie named Reddygaru Poyaru (Reddygaru is dead) has attracted the ire of YSR Congress activists. Supposedly based on the events that unfolded after YSR’s death, RGV is hoping for a hit with this political film. But YSR’s closest pal KVP Ramachandra Rao recently rebuffed RGV when the latter sought an interview. Ramachandra Rao who gave the film-maker an appointment backed out as soon as some associates advised him that RGV was making a film on YSR’s death.

Bacchus Lovers Rejoice

The continuing ACB raids on liquor syndicates in the State have led to panic among many liquor shop owners. One of the commonly flouted Excise rules is that of selling above MRP. Eager to project themselves as clean, many businessmen in the trade have come up with the idea of setting up huge boards outside their shops. These boards boldly state, “We sell at MRP rates” and go on to list prices of various brands. Bacchus lovers are happy to get a good deal at last.