Hyderabad Blues

Summons and Sympathy

The moment has finally arrived. After several months of investigation and rounding up of various accused in the illegal assets case, YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy has been summoned by the CBI court on May 28. While speculation initially raged about whether he will be arrested the same day, it is more likely that from now on, Jagan will be making several rounds of the CBI court and office. In one way, this might affect his campaign for the forthcoming bypolls to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly segments on June 12. But it is more likely to give rise to a huge sympathy wave. While the ruling Congress and opposition TD are repeatedly saying that the bypoll results need not be considered as a referendum, it sure will be for Jagan's party which will display its strength on a large scale for the first time. Jagan's mother Vijayalakshmi has already been training to handle the reins of the party should her son actually be arrested.

Desperate Measures

What's generated greater controversy is the CBI freezing the current accounts of Sakshi TV and newspaper which are owned by Jagan. The YSR Congress leader calls it a desperate attempt by both the TD and Congress since they are unable to take him on politically. Soon after the CBI moved in to freeze Sakshi’s bank accounts, the state government cancelled government advertisements to Sakshi group saying the decision was taken in public interest. This has divided the regional media with some supporting the move and others opposing it vehemently. Sakshi is protesting against the move calling it a black era in democracy and says the lives of 20,000 employees will be affected. The CBI has asked the Labour department to verify the claims of Sakshi and to find out the actual number of employees on its rolls. Panic has already begun among Sakshi employees, many of whom are looking for alternative jobs in the market.

While Chandrababu Naidu says the Central Bureau of Investigation should have frozen the accounts long ago, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Botsa Satyanarayana and CM Kiran Kumar Reddy say it is usual procedure for the CBI to seize accounts in such cases.

Meanwhile, the officer who is leading the investigation, CBI Joint Director V Lakshminarayana was recently spotted taking some time off and enjoying an IPL match in Hyderabad. But gone are those days when Lakshminarayana used to answer his mobile and answer questions from the media. He has now changed his number and only talks briefly to the media when he appears in court during case hearings.

Wooing Farmers

In a bid to woo the farmer, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy recently launched the Rythu Chaitanya Yatra to make them aware of the latest scientific technologies available in the market. Kiran Kumar says his is the most farmer-friendly government ever seen in the state. He hopes to win the farmer's heart by spending more on farm insurance and directing banks to increase loan components per acre of cultivable land. Farm scientists will be touring villages as part of the Rythu Chaitanya Yatra. Ironically, while this programme was being launched in Mahbubnagar, leaders of the AP Rythu Sangham (State farmers' association) tried to lay siege to the CM's camp office. The agitating farmers were demanding minimum support price for their produce. Farmers allege that cotton prices have fallen from Rs 7,000 last year to Rs 1,500 this year. Similarly, they say chilli prices have dropped from Rs 10,000 last year to Rs 2,000 now. Naidu was quick to lambast the CM for his "double standards" of launching yatras on one hand and arresting agitating farmers who were in great distress on the other.

Hug Politics

Chandrababu Naidu's sulking actor-nephew NTR Jr has issued a statement saying he has no differences with the Telugu Desam and would never leave the party founded by his grandfather, the late N T Rama Rao. NTR Jr caused jitters in the party when his supporter Vijayawada TD president Vallabhaneni Vamsi indulged in some hug-politics with Jagan. NTR Jr and his father Harikrishna have not been too happy with Naidu and a cold war has been continuing between the families. The 28-year-old NTR Jr's latest release Dammu has only done average business and there is talk that his rift with Naidu has unnerved his fan base. Hence, the sudden climb-down. NTR Jr has, however, avoided any mention of Naidu in the statement and simply says he will stay loyal to the Telugu Desam. So it appears that Naidu might have gotten a temporary reprieve from his rebellious nephew but the future still remains unclear.

Innocent Neta

Newly nominated Rajya Sabha member Chiranjeevi faced some anxious moments when Income Tax officials raided his son-in-law Vishnu Prasad's residence in Chennai. It is said that about 35 boxes containing currency notes were seized during the raid. Chiranjeevi's elder daughter Sushmita is married to Vishnu Prasad whose family is into oil, granite and marble businesses. Vishnu's father Siva Prasad was not in Chennai when the raids took places. Unofficial reports say that one of the currency boxes which was seized from the family's Poes Garden residence contained Rs 1 crore. Some Telugu TV channels began speculating about whether the money was actually Chiranjeevi's and meant to be used for poll purposes. Chiranjeevi promptly called a press conference to deny the allegations and said both him and his son-in-law's family were innocent.

Dabbang Gabbar Singh

Chiranjeevi's actor-brother Pawan Kalyan has, however, got much to cheer about. His latest release Gabbar Singh, a remake of Dabbang is a runaway hit. Pawan Kalyan's career has been down in the dumps for long but this hit has placed right on top of the box office. Director Harish Shankar has adapted it in such a way in Telugu that one forgets the original Dabbang after the first 10 minutes. Shruti Hassan who was labelled lil miss jinx in Tollywood has finally found a hit down south. And no, there are are no "Thappad se nahi, pyaar se darr lagta hai" kind of dialogues for Shruti who just has to make way for Pawan Kalyan's larger than life presence in the movie. In fact, the talk in Hyderabad is that music director Devi Sri Prasad's Kevvu Kekais a much better item number than Munni badnaam hui. But for the love of the original, it is the sultry Malaika Arora who does the honours in Kevvu Keka as well.

Southern Star

Chandrababu Naidu has always patted himself for being one of the first persons to pitch the idea of Abdul Kalam as President. Naidu now says that ideally he would again prefer a President from south India. If not, at least the Vice-President has to be from the south, the Telugu Desam party president insists. Naidu is firm on taking up this demand when he meets with leaders of like-minded parties on his next visit to Delhi.