N Kiran Kumar Reddy

Congress says Telangana not on UPA's agenda

New Delhi: Congress on Saturday said the issue of separate Telangana does not form part of the UPA's national agenda and it only concerned the state government- remarks which may cause consternation in Andhra Pradesh. "The issue does not form party of the national agenda of UPA. It definitely does not form part.... It concerns the state government", party spokesman PC Chacko told reporters at the AICC briefing.

Chacko's remarks came in response to questions when a decision on the long delayed issue of Telangana is expected. Telangana is a sensitive issue in Andhra Pradesh where all parties are divided on regional lines in the matter.

In January 2012, Chacko as Congress spokesman had spoken differently. "Congress is for Telangana. It is only an issue of time. A decision has to be taken... it has to have a constitutional basis. That (process) has to be completed now," he had said days after the January 28 deadline set by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for a decision on the issue had lapsed.

Proponents of a separate Telangana state feel that the agreements, plans, and assurances from the legislature and Lok Sabha over the last fifty years have not been honoured, and as a consequence Telangana has remained neglected, exploited, and backward. They allege that the experiment of Andhra Pradesh to remain as one state has proven to be a futile exercise and that separation is the best solution....more    

Andhra Pradesh CM promises to curb illegal liquor outlets

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday promised to shut down, in a phased manner, "belt shops" or illegal outlets of licensed liquor shops spread across the state. He made the announcement while addressing a public meeting at Eluru in West Godavari district when union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh made a fervent appeal. Ramesh said the chief minister should take the initiative as the women...  

Katju urges Andhra to free constable jailed for killing ACP

Hyderabad: Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju on Saturday appealed to Andhra Pradesh government to release Abdul Qadeer, a former police constable who is in jail for last 22 years for gunning down a police officer. Katju submitted a letter to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy urging him to pardon the 51-year-old former constable on humanitarian grounds. Katju pointed out that Abdul Qadeer has already spent 22 years...  

Power hike protests: AP government assures relook

Bowing to intensified protests by TDP and other opposition parties on the issue of power crisis, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday night said the power tariff hike would be revisited so that poor sections were not burdened. Police meanwhile shifted the fasting BJP MLAs -- G Kishan Reddy, E Lakshminarayna and Y Srinivasa Reddy -- to hospital in view of their health condition. They had...  

After Left, TDP leaders begin indefinite fast in Hyderabad

Even as police arrested leaders of Left parties who were on hunger strike for last four days to protest hike in electricity tariff, leaders of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Tuesday night launched an indefinite fast here on the same issue. ...  

AP: Centre to decide on Telangana issue when time comes, says CM

Asserting that the Centre had never said that "it would "give or not give" a separate Telangana state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday said that the union government would take a decision on statehood when the 'time and occasion' come. He also said that any resolution in the state Assembly (on Telangana) could be taken up only on the directive of the Centre. ...  

AP Cong to seek disciplinary action against 9 rebel MLAs

Taking a tough stand, the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday said it would soon seek disciplinary action against the nine rebel MLAs who voted against the Government during a no-confidence motion last week. ...  

Jairam Ramesh moots 20-year moratorium on mining in tribal areas

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday mooted 20-year moratorium on mining in tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh. Addressing a public meeting at G K Veedhi, a an interior tribal area in Visakhapatnam district, he suggested to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to impose the ban on mining as it gives rise to Maoist activity. ...  

Hyderabad to host 11th Metropolis World Congress next year

The 11th Metropolis World Congress-2014, featuring about 2,000 delegates from 100 metropolitan cities from around the world, will be held Hyderabad in April 2014, said an official statement on Saturday night. ...  

Telangana, Andhra-Rayalaseema leaders at loggerheads

With the deadline for the Centre's decision on the vexatious Telangana statehood issue approaching fast, the war of words between leaders of Telangana and Andhra-Rayalaseema regions has escalated. While Andhra-Rayalaseema leaders are brushing aside their Telangana counterparts' claims on "signals" of formation of a new state as "mere speculation," the latter aver that the former are in a state of "desperation" as Telangana state would become a reality soon. ...  

Rs 16,000 cr for irrigation projects in next 2 yrs: AP CM

Andhra Pradesh government is taking steps to bring 30 lakh acres of land under irrigation in the next two years by spending Rs 16,000 crore, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said in Anantapur on Thursday. ...  

Congress rules out change in Andhra leadership

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday dismissed speculative reports about change of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief B Satyanarayana Rao. AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, incharge of party affairs in the state, told reporters that reports of a change of guard in Andhra were "mere speculation". Azad also downplayed withdrawal of support to the Reddy-led government by Asaduddin Owaisi's Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. MIM has...  

Cyclone Nilam aftermath: 24 dead, 68,000 evacuated in AP

Hyderabad: Twenty-four people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh as heavy rains continued to batter several regions under the influence of 'Cyclone Nilam'. Coastal Andhra Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of nature's fury as villages and towns were inundated by swollen rivulets. Sources say that 68,000 people have been evacuated from low lying areas to relief camps. Sources further say that due to heavy rain 5...  

Cyclone Nilam: Coastal districts of AP put on high alert

Hyderabad: Districts along the Bay of Bengal coast in Andhra Pradesh have been put on high alert as the deep depression that lay centred between Chennai and Nagapattinam is expected to turn into a cyclone by tomorrow. Heavy winds with a speed ranging from 45-55 kmph are expected under the impact of cyclone Nilam. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was on a tour of Medak district in Telangana,...  

Andhra government to allow foreign retailers in state

Machilipatnam: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday said his government will allow foreign players to set shops in the state in tune with the Centre's decision allowing foreign FDI in multi-brand retail. "The multi-national companies will invest Rs 500 crore on infrastructure activity like cold storages under the FDI norms. Such investments will directly benefit the farm sector and farmers will get more price for their...  

Allow Telangana march: Outfits tell Andhra govt

Hyderabad: A delegation of pro-Telangana organisations on Monday appealed to the Andhra Pradesh government to allow proposed 'Telangana March' on September 30 in Hyderabad demanding statehood for the region, asserting that it will be held in a "peaceful" manner. In a letter addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, representatives of eminent citizens of Hyderabad, Telangana Development Forum and Senior Citizens Association appealed that democratic rights of the 40 million Telangana people...  

Telugu film industry mourns the death of Suman

The death of Suman has left many celebrities and well-wishers of Ramoji Rao's family shattered. Several political leaders, including N Kiran Kumar Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu, have paid homage to Suman's dead body in the last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and Gujarath Chief Minister Narendra Modi also mourned. Among them was Chiranjeevi, who said that Suman's death was indigestible for him. "Suman had a place of...  

AP minister refuses to quit despite jail sentence

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Secondary Education Minister K Parthasarathy refused to step down from his post on Thursday, even as Opposition parties raised their pitch for his resignation or dismissal after a local court sentenced him to a two-month jail term in a FERA violation case. He pleaded his innocence after he met Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy Thursday evening and "explained" his case. "I have not indulged in any...  

Andhra Pradesh CM condole Rajesh Khanna's demise

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP K Chiranjeevi expressed grief over the death of Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna today. "Rajesh Khanna ruled the Hindi film industry in the 1970s through a series of blockbusters and endeared himself to the audience across the country," the Chief Minister said in a statement. Reddy extended sympathies to the bereaved family. The 'romantic era' in Indian films has...  

‘Jagan in jail for 14 years if charges proved'

Payakaraopeta: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would have to face a jail term of 14 years, if the charges levelled against him were proved in the illegal assets case. Kiran Kumar Reddy was campaigning in Payakaraopeta Assembly segment in Visakhapatnam district on Friday. Addressing a gathering at panchayat office centre, the chief minister made it clear that Jagan was behind the bars as...