Political Diary

Former Minister and Praja Rajyam Paraty (PRP) leader T Devender Goud returned to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) along with his followers in the presence of Party President N Chandrababu Naidu today.
Mr Goud, who quit the TDP before the elections, had floated Nav Telangana Praja Party. Later, his party merged with Praja Rajyam.His follower and former Minister E Peddi Reddy also joined TDP along with him. They assured Mr Naidu that they would strive hard to strengthen the party.
Welcoming Mr Goud, Peddi Reddy and others to the party fold, Mr Naidu called upon the party workers and leaders to strive hard to strengthen the party and fight against the ’’anti people’’ policies of the Congress party.

Praja Rajyam Party chief K Chiranjeevi on Thursday rejected the criticism that his one-year-old party has become an "extension of Congress." Chiranjeevi asserted that they were acting as a responsible opposition party on all issues. "Being an opposition party does not mean that we should be shouting at the government all the time on every issue. Haven't we strongly opposed the government on mines leasing issue in the Assembly today," he said. PRP was reacting appropriately to every issue with people's interest in mind, he said. Asked if his effort to form an alternative group of opposition parties, excluding Telugu Desam, fails going by the events in Assembly today, Chiranjeevi said, "We never tried to form any separate group as such. Our objective was to ensure that all opposition parties got due opportunity in the House to raise issues of public concern. Our meeting was mainly to ensure better co-ordination." Two days ago, Chiranjeevi held a meeting with leaders of non-Congress and non-TDP parties like LokSatta, CPI, CPM, TRS and BJP in a bid to form a separate group and put an end to the "dominance" of Congress and TDP in the House.

Lanco Infratech, an infrastructure major promoted by the Vijayawada MP, Mr Lagadapati Rajagopal, is under probe for allegedly reworking insurance deals to claim crores of rupees as reimbursement from state government corporations, official sources said.
The company, which handles mega construction projects for the state government, including the AP Health and Medical Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APHMHIDC), renegotiated premium amounts with insurance companies and pocketed huge refunds. Even Lord Balaji was not spared as one of the Lanco projects now under the scanner relates to the construction of the Vedic University of the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam, sources said.
The premium reimbursements related to the CAR (contractor all-risk) policies that Lanco Infratech had to take for each project as per the tender rules. Under the CAR norms, the contractor company, Lanco Infratech in this instance, would have to insure the entire project and claim reimbursement of premium from the principals, mostly government companies and TTD in one case.
A senior investigator told this newspaper that Lanco Infratech would first negotiate the policy with an insurer and pay up the premium. It would get the premium refunded from the contracting principal. Thereafter it would go back to the insurer to renegotiate the premium, saying it had got a lower quote from a competitor company.
“The insurer agreed to lower the premium and refunded the balance, which Lanco Infratech would not report to the principal and simply pocketed. The government companies have suffered huge losses by paying up higher premiums and this has been going on at least from 2007,” said the investigator, requesting anonymity.
The construction of an integrated educational complex for the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Basar in Adilabad district is a classic case. Lanco had bought insurance cover with the New India Assurance, Basheerbagh, for payment of Rs 1,89,60,000 as premium.
After getting it refunded by the principal, APHMHIDC, Lanco Infratech went back to the insurer to renegotiate a steep drop in the premium. That deal through policy no: 610200/44/08/03/600 00027 yielded Lanco Infratech a refund of Rs 1.53 crore and the government corporation was in the dark. The projects for medical colleges in Ongole and Srikakulam had yielded premium refunds of Rs 17 lakh and Rs 11 lakh respectively.
“Our vigilance officials are probing irregularities,” said the chairman and managing director G. Srinivasan of the United India Insurance Co. Ltd, acknowledging the Lanco scam. UIIC investigators are now busy checking whether some of their own executives had colluded with Lanco Infratech. A few other insurance majors figure in the list of insurers that Lanco had used in its fruitful project deals.
When contacted by this newspaper, Lanco Infratech director (operations) B. Manohar came up with an interesting diagnosis for the muddle. “We negotiate with the insurance companies for reducing the premium for our works taken up in EPC mode. Similarly we negotiated in government contracts also. But because of some communication gap at lower levels there was delay in remitting back the amounts to the government. There is no intention to cheat the government. We will pay back the entire amount refunded to us by the insurance companies.”
Strangely, Lanco woke up to its ‘communication gap’ only after this newspaper started its probe a few days back. The newspaper contacted the Lanco chairman, Mr L. Madhusudhan Rao, for his comments on July 31. His company issued four cheques to the TTD the next day refunding Rs.15,04,188 it had obtained as refund from the insurance company way back in 2007.
The same day, Lanco also wrote to the APHMHIDC asking it to adjust some of the refunds ‘in future bills’.The corporation MD, Mr M. Ravichandra, confirmed receiving Lanco Infratech’s letter on August 1. “But such repayments will not exonerate the company of the mistake it committed,” he said, adding that action would be initiated against the company for holding back premium refunds.

Amid the ongoing legal battle between the Ambani brothers over supply and price of gas from the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, the state government Tuesday said it would fight for its reasonable share of gas and royalties.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has asked two companies to take up creation of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network to supply piped gas for cooking to every household and CNG for vehicles in Hyderabad and other municipalities in the first phase.
The chief minister, who held a review meeting with top officials on the issue, announced that his government would soon enter into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard.’A meeting of the concerned companies will be held at the earliest to see that an MoU is signed in this regard. The details like the cost of infrastructure will be worked out at the meeting,’ said a statement from the chief minister’s office released Tuesday evening.
A few hours after his government assured the state assembly that it would fight for the state’s due share in the gas and royalties, the chief minister asked Krishna-Godavari Gas Network Ltd (KGGNL) and Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd to take up CGD network creation in the state.
The state government is also proposing to approach the petroleum regulatory board to grant the permission for setting up CGD to KGGNL and Bhagyanagar on nomination basis.Reddy hoped that once the CGD network is created, the prices of gas would come down by 40 percent.
YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, was satisfied that Reliance Industries was presently supplying 10 million metric standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) for gas-based power projects in Andhra Pradesh, meeting the state’s present requirement.
He said the state was also making all efforts to get another 8.5 mmscmd of gas required for the 2100-MW power project coming up in Karimnagar district.Out of four companies which were awarded various blocks in the KG basin by the central government, only Reliance Industries has started gas production.
Reliance Industries started supplying gas from the first week of April beginning with five mmscmd.

Media baron Ch Ramoji Rao, who is facing a criminal case connected to the alleged collection of deposits in an unlawful manner for his Margadarsi Financiers, appeared before the first additional chief metropolitan magistrate court at Nampally on Tuesday.
He was handed over five volumes of documents pertaining to the case and was also told that he would be examined in this case by the magistrate. Ramoji’s counsel sought six weeks of time to go through the documents. Accordingly, the court granted the time and posted the case to September 17

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said that the tender process for Metro Rail Project will be completed by December end.
Replying to a question of Akbaruddin Owaisi (MIM) and others on Metro rail project during the Question Hour in the State Assembly today, the minister said that once the Government finalised the tenders the works on the Metro Rail project would begin immediately.
He said that in the second phase of the project, the Government would extend the project from Jubilee bus stand to Alwal, Miyapur to Patancheru and Falknuma to international Airport.
He said that of the 71 km proposed under MRTS project around 13.2 km were covered in Old City. The Government had to acquire 269 acres land for MRTS on which 16 million SFT built up area would come up, he added.
The Metro rail project costs Rs 178 crore per every km whereas the BRTS would cost only Rs 10 crore. Though, the BRTS was cost-effective, the project requires 100-feet roads and it was not possible to expand the roads in some places. The detailed project report of BRTS would be submitted by the contracting company within three months, the minister said.
Akbaruddin Owaisi wanted the State Government to completely redesign the present Metro Rail project so as to cover more area in Old City. The Urban Development Minister said that the present design was accepted by the Centre and it would take more time for making changes in the design.
On the allegations levelled by Owaisi that the Government delayed cancelling the Maytas tender, Ramanarayana Reddy said as the Maytas failed to provide the performance security of Rs 240 crore, the Government cancelled the tenders and forfeited Rs 71 crore bid security amount. He said that the delay in cancelling the Maytas tender was due to election code in March.
Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the Government had failed to implement the Metro Rail project on time. Naidu sensed a big scam in in the project and wanted the Government to take the suggestions from Metro Rail expert Sridharan. He demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

Resigning from the Praja Rajyam Party(PRP), T Devender Goud today announced his decision to return to his parent party TDP along with his associates and followers to strengthen their fight against the ’oppressive Congress’ and evolve an alternate to it both at the national and state levels.
Mr Goud, along with his associates and followers, will formally join the TDP on August 6.
Admitting that he had committed a ’’historical blunder’’ by ’’hastily’’ quitting the party and not considering its decision to support separate Telangana State later, Mr Goud, who had sent his resignation to PRP President Chiranjeevi, told a meeting of his followers at his residence that ’’there is an urgent need for building a strong alternative to the Congress at the national and state levels’’.
He hailed TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu as the ’’hero’’, who sustained the party in the face of adverse political situation with ’’political sagacity’’. ’’We shall take this as an opportunity to fight the oppressive Congress, which has conspired to deny any space to Opposition in the state,’’ he claimed.
The ruling Congress was adopting ’’divide and rule’’ policy like the Britishers, Mr Goud alleged, adding, ’’We have grown in the TDP.We are not going there for the sake of power. We have decided to take to the thorny path. Power is not an end in politics.I know very well about the TDP. It has not neglected sincere leaders and workers.
People will recognise and reward leaders and workers who work sincerely for their welfare.’’ A day after actor-turned-politician and former union minister U V Krishnam Raju had quit the PRP, Mr Goud had a one-to-one meeting with the PRP President on Saturday last.
Mr Goud had merged his Nava Telangana Party, which he had floated soon after quitting the TDP to espouse the cause of separate Telangana State, with the PRP.
The backward classes leader had unsuccessfully contested for the Lok Sabha from Malkajgiri and to the state Assembly from Ibrahimpatnam in the recent simultaneous elections.Mr Goud, who had started his political career as Chairman of Ranga Reddy District Zilla Parishad in 1988, rose to hold key posts in the TDP, including membership of the TDP Polit Bureau, the highest decision-making body before he left the party.
He had also worked as minister in the Cabinets of TDP Founder N T Rama Rao and later N Chandrababu Naidu, handling, among other portfolios, Home, Backward Classes Welfare and Revenue.

The Telugu Desam charged the Assembly Speaker with setting `new traditions’ in the House and questioned him under which rule its MLAs were suspended from the House today.
Speaking to the media after being suspended from the House, Nagam Janardhan Reddy, Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu, M Narasimhulu and P Kesav said they re-entered the House after staging a walkout as the subject on which they had raised questions was being discussed.
The Speaker allowed Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister A Ramanarayana Reddy, and Legislative Affairs Minister Rosaiah to speak on the subject but not the TD members, they complained.
They said Opposition Leader Chandrababu Naidu had never deviated from the subject but the speaker raised objection to it and they wanted the Speaker to check the records.The government was trying to cover up the corruption in the Ellampally reservoir construction project deliberately, the TD MLAs alleged.
They said that it was Naidu who construed MMTS, international Airport and Krishna water project to Hyderabad.

Senior Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy today maintained that the third phase of the Krishna Water project should be taken up immediately to meet the drinking water needs of ’this ever-growing metropolis’.
He told reporters here that the city was entitled to 16 TMC ft of the Krishna Waters and only 11 TMC ft had been utilised under two phases.The government’s proposal to bring Godavari waters would take a very long time to implement, he opined, adding efforts should be hastened to take up the third phase of the Krishna Water Project.

They also told Naidu that there should not be riders like Rajya Sabha seat for Goud’s comeback. Naidu had to hold several rounds of meetings with these leaders before he could get their approval. While Arvind Goud said that it was for Naidu to decide on who should be admitted to the party, he said he was confident that Devender Goud will not get the number two position he had enjoyed in the past.
But Srinivas Yadav is still not reconciled and is said to be insisting that Goud offer a public apology for ditching the party at a crucial time and also for criticising Naidu publicly.
According to TDP sources, other leaders like K Vidyadhar Rao, former energy minister K Subbarayudu and T Sitaram are also contemplating to stage a comeback.

Amid speculation of exodus of prominent leaders from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the aftermath of at the April 2009 polls, former Union Minister A Narendra today met Ms Vijayashanti, the member of Parliament from Medak.
The meeting comes a day after rebel TRS former MLA T Jaiprakash Reddy had met the actor-politician. Mr Reddy, supporter of Mr Narendra, had earlier represented Medak Constitutency in the Lok Sabha. He did not contest the April 2009 polls because of health reasons.
Post poll development had rattled the TRS and with the upsurge in media speculations, former State Minister T Harish Rao, the nephew of TRS founder-President K Chandrasekhar Rao, also met Ms Vijayashanti in a bid to stem the tide.
Ms Vijayashanti, the Secretary General of TRS, has not attended the meetings of the party. She had recently called on Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ’’to discuss the development plans in her Lok Sabha Constituency’’ only to fuel the speculations on her possible entry into Congress.
The speculations started soon after the poll results with the TRS having two MPs -- Vijayashanti and KCR, providing cover from the anti-defection laws. Mr Narendra himself was an associate member after the BJP expelled him on party discipline challenging party veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. .
Vijayashanti too could follow the foot steps of Narendra after leaving the TRS and still be the Telangana ’hope’, party sources said.

Amid uproar, Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker, N Kirankumar Reddy, today expunged remarks made by TDP member Annapurnamma, attributing ’motives’ to the state government’s decision to make Advisor to government on Public Affairs K V P Ramachandra Rao as the head of Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Security.
The Speaker also expunged the remarks made by State Women Development and Child Welfare Minister K Surekha in connection with the arrest of TDP legislator T V Rama Rao on a complaint of attempt to rape by two Kerala girls studying in the nursing college run by him.
The House was plunged into pandemonium when the TDP member made some derogatory remarks against the Chief Minister’s office in connection with the creation of the Committee on Public Safety and Security, with the treasury benches staging a noisy protest.
Denying the charge, Home Minister P Sabita Reddy maintained during the Question hour that she was given a ’’free hand’’ by the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in handling the home portfolio.
The role of the Committee was only advisory in nature, she added.
Ms Surekha also maintained that Dr Reddy had given a pride of place for women by including six of them in the State Cabinet and by giving important portfolios to them. Unable to digest this, the opposition was making baseless allegations against the Government, she claimed.
The Speaker put a full stop to wrangling over the arrest of Mr Rao, stating that the matter had been listed for discussion during the budget session.