‍Why ‍KCR Plans To Revive Much-Sought 'Federal Front' Plans?

Going by the size of the entourage and the ongoing churn in the opposition camp at the national level, it appears that Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, during his visit to Delhi on 2nd September, may tie up the loose ends of his Federal Front formation.Officially speaking, KCR is going to Delhi to lay the foundation stone for the construction of TRS office building in Delhi. The Centre had allotted 1,200 sq yards of land for TRS office at Vasanth Vihar in Delhi.

In the recent TRS state committee meeting, the party leadership had decided to go ahead with the construction of an impressive party office in Delhi. KCR will lay the foundation stone in the presence of TRS MLAs, MLCs, MPs and members of the State Executive Committee. According to CMO, the Chief Minister will leave for Delhi on 1st September and return to Hyderabad on 3rd September.

At the national level, former Union minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have initiated steps to unite 'anti -BJP forces' to fight with BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections. KCR perhaps thinks that the political atmosphere in the country is presently in favour of those whom he had previously  envisaged as part of his Federal Front: 'anti BJP' and 'anti Congress' forces. The image of BJP, notwithstanding the pull of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is fading. At the same time, the Congress, despite being a pan-India party, is not in a position to regain its lost ground by taking advantage of the present political situation.  

KCR is of the considered view that time is ripe to meet some political leaders at the national level who are against BJP and Congress on this occasion. KCR is also thinking of inviting some leaders to the function, but the problem is that the Delhi government has been strictly implementing Covid protocol with regard to any functions. Since it is not possible for KCR to gather all the leaders, he is also considering separate meetings with some of them to discuss the political agenda.

Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee are in favour of the Congress party and want to form a front with anti-BJP parties, including Congress. But they don't want this front to be headed by Sonia Gandhi. KCR wants his Federal Front to comprise forces that are against BJP and Congress.

As for TS, TRS cannot join hands with the Congress because the grand old party is the main opposition in the state. 'Anti-BJP' parties like DMK, Janata Dal (Secular) of HD Deve Gowda, RJD of Tejaswi Yadav (Bihar) are also thinking that without the Congress it would not be possible to form a front at the national level against BJP.  Those parties have no problem with the Congress in their state-level politics, unlike the TRS in Telangana. Even Communist parties are in favour of having Congress in any front that may be formed ultimately to fight the BJP.  

Against this background, it remains to be seen which political leaders KCR would invite and how he would convince them to join his Federal Front at the national level. In fact, KCR has already discussed this issue with Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin, Deve Gowda, Navin Patnaik, Hemanth Soren and others in the past.  They all are in favour of the Federal Front, though not minus Congress party.  In any case, KCR wants to be active in national politics ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍Is Telangana CM KCR Focussing On National Politics?

Will TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao announce his decision to plunge into national politics on September 2? This is the topic which is being discussed in political circles. KCR will be visiting Delhi to lay the foundation stone for the new building of Telangana Bhavan in the national capital.

The entire Telangana cabinet, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and senior TRS leaders have been invited to attend the foundation stone laying function in Delhi. Sources said that the new party building would reflect the Telangana culture and traditions and the elevation will be similar to the Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad.

Official sources said that the chief minister is planning to stay in New Delhi for two to three days and would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some Union Ministers. The CM is keen to meet Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and explain the challenges faced in the utilisation of Krishna water after the Union government issued a gazette which accorded full powers to the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards (KRMB and GRMB) in the management of the river waters.

Other issues which he may take up with other ministers relate to sanction of national highway projects and release of funds, approval of new airports, release of funds for the centrally-sponsored projects like AIIMS and railways.

The CM has asked the officials to prepare detailed reports to be submitted to the Union ministers. Efforts are on to get an appointment for one-on-one meeting with the PM, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The possibility of informal meetings with some political party leaders is also not ruled out. #KhabarLive #hydnews

‍‍Why ‍'Political Bazaar' Getting 'Hot' In Telangana?

Telangana people are quite surprised upon heating up the political activities in the state for a by-election in Huzurabad to dominates the supremacy over one and other political parties poll-strategies and electioneering tactics.

As #KhabarLive analyzed the entire situation, reveal the political supermacy dominates the major political parties. Its still more than two years for Assembly elections in Telangana but the series of yatras, rallies and meetings by the political parties have created a poll-like atmosphere in the state.

A series of developments and hectic activity by all major political players has increased the political temperature in the state, where elections are due towards the end of 2023.

Opposition parties are vying with each other in targeting Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for its failures even as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao himself is leading the counter-attack from the ruling party by rolling out a slew of schemes.

With the by-election to the Huzurabad Assembly seat likely to be held soon, both the ruling and opposition parties are going all out to woo the voters. By announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' and an insurance scheme for weavers and by luring some top leaders of the Congress, BJP and TDP into its camp, the TRS is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a victory in Huzurabad.

The by-election has become a battle of prestige for the TRS as Eatala Rajender, who was dropped from the State Cabinet in May following allegations of land grabbing, will be contesting as the BJP candidate.

As Rajender had been winning the seat since 2009, the BJP is hoping to ride on his popularity in the constituency to deal a blow to the TRS ahead of the next Assembly polls. The leaders of the saffron party hope that a win in Huzurabad will boost its confidence to achieve the goal of coming to power in the country's youngest state.

The recent elevation of G. Kishan Reddy as an independent minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet has boosted the morale of the saffron party, which had set alarm bells ringing in the TRS camp by wresting the Dubbak Assembly seat and by putting up an impressive performance in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) last year.

While returning to his home state after his elevation, union minister for tourism and culture Kishan Reddy mounted a scathing attack on TRS by undertaking a Jana Ashirwada Yatra from August 19. He slammed KCR and his family, for what he called massive corruption and for pushing the state into a debt trap.

Kishan Reddy's three-day yatra covered 305 kilometres across eight Parliament segments and 17 Assembly constituencies including Huzurabad.

The BJP is looking to mount further pressure on the ruling party as its state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar will be launching a 'Praja Sangrama Yatra' from August 24.

The party says the walkathon, to begin from Bhagyalakshmi Temple at Charminar, is aimed at making citizens aware of the 'corrupt and dictatorial' family rule of KCR.

Sanjay, who is also the MP from Karimnagar, said the main objective of his walkathon is to enthuse the people to protest against the TRS government as it has failed to justify the reasons for which the separate state was formed.

"We need to free Telangana Talli (mother Telangana) from this corrupt family regime which is not at all concerned with people's issues. We have to take the failures of the government to the people at every booth level and understand the people's concerns which would help during our manifesto preparation," he said.

During the yatra, the BJP leader also plans to receive representations from people about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS government and also the complaints about not receiving the benefits under various welfare schemes. The saffron party will forward these representations to the government.

The BJP's central leadership will be keenly following the walkathon, which is expected to set the tone for the Huzurabad bypoll and the next Assembly elections.

The success of Sanjay's yatra will be crucial for the party to bounce back after receiving a jolt in the recent by-election in Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency and the Legislative Council polls from the graduates' constituencies. The saffron party lost the lone Legislative Council seat it was holding and had a disastrous performance in Nagarjuna Sagar, where its candidate forfeited the deposit.

A rejuvenated Congress party has also stepped up its activities. With A. Revanth Reddy taking over as the president of the party's state unit last month, it has become aggressive in taking up various issues and targeting the TRS government over what it called its unfulfilled promises and failures.

During the last few days, Revanth Reddy led two major public meetings as part of its Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora (Movement for SC/ST self-respect). Through this statewide campaign, the party is trying to woo Dalits and tribals by highlighting how the TRS government neglected them during the last seven years.

The Congress is upbeat over the huge public response it received at its meetings at Indravelli in Adilabad district and at Raviryala on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is now planning to organise a third public meeting in Gajwel, the constituency represented by KCR.

The Congress, like the BJP, is also targeting KCR for announcing 'Dalit Bandhu' only to garner the votes of Dalits in the Huzurabad bypoll. "After the by-election, KCR will again forget Dalits. Why is he not implementing Dalit Bandhu across the state, why only in Huzurabad," asked Revanth Reddy.

The TPCC chief also recalled that KCR did not fulfil his promises of installing a 125-feet Ambedkar statue in Hyderabad, three acres of land to each landless Dalit family, KG to PG free education and a job to every household.
Buoyed by the huge public response to its meetings, the state Congress leadership has decided to invite party leader Rahul Gandhi to a series of public meetings in the run up to the 2023 Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi is likely to address a public meeting in Warangal next month as part of Dalita Girijana Atma Gaurava Dandora. The party is planning the meet as a massive show of strength before the Huzurabad bypoll.

The Congress party has started the groundwork for the next Assembly polls. Manickam Tagore, AICC in-charge of Telangana, held a review meeting with party leaders in Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency on August 20 and directed all party leaders and those who unsuccessfully contested the 2018 and 2019 polls to start working in their respective constituencies by meeting the people.

"Talk to voters, spend time with them, list their problems and find out what they have to say about the unfulfilled promises of the TRS and BJP governments in the state and at the Centre respectively," he said.
Claiming that the political situation in the state is turning in favour of the Congress, Revanth Reddy said the party is certain to win at least 72 of the 119 constituencies in the elections to the Assembly whenever they are held.

The newly formed YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) led by Y S Sharmila has also launched its activities, adding to the political buzz in the state. The sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is undertaking a fast every week over the issue of unemployment. After calling on the families of unemployed people who committed suicide, she sits on a day-long fast every Tuesday. She is demanding that the government fulfil its promise of filling all vacancies in various departments and providing jobs to all.

Three days ago she also staged a protest in Mulugu district over the issue of podu lands or the lands tilled by tribals. She accused KCR of cheating tribals by not fulfilling his earlier promise to resolve the podu lands issue. She assured her party's support to tribals, demanding that the government give them ownership right of podu lands.

Amid the stepped up activity by the opposition parties, Chief Minister KCR visited Huzurabad constituency on August 16, launched his ambitious scheme 'Dalit Bandhu' and addressed a huge public meeting. The scheme was launched on a pilot basis in Huzurabad and he promised that all Dalit families in the state will receive benefits under the scheme. Every Dalit family will get a Rs 10 lakh grant under the scheme to start a business of its choice, he said. Hitting back at his political rivals, KCR asked why their governments in the states or at the Centre never thought of designing a scheme to empower Dalits.

The politics over Dalits in the state took an interesting turn this month when former IPS officer R. S. Praveen Kumar joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Kumar, who held the rank of Additional Director General of Police, took voluntary retirement last month. The officer urged Dalits to become rulers and not slaves. He joined the BSP at a massive public meeting at Nalgonda on August 8. On Dalit Bandhu, he said that the scheme was a constitutional right and not anybody's charity.

He told KCR that the money he was spending on the scheme was what weaker sections had earned by tilling the land. "If you have any love for Dalits, spend your money on them," he said. #KhabarLive #hydnews

Will the Aadhaar Act Withstand a Constitutional Challenge?

Is it time to change tactics with regard to privacy and Aadhaar? It seems likely that the Act will be upheld as constitutional, when looked at whether it falls foul of our fundamental right to privacy.

Oppressive personal laws aren’t the only thing standing between Muslim women and happy lives

The nation cannot swoop in to save the Muslim woman while Muslim communities are simultaneously being brought to their knees.

I am glad it is over. I refer to talaq-e-bidat, the practice of Muslim men uttering talaq, talaq, talaq in a single setting to instantly divorce their wives, which rightfully belonged in a trash can, but also to the television nation’s delirious excitement at having “saved Muslim women”.

In A Historic Verdict, Supreme Court Strikes Down Triple Talaq

For many women in India, the Supreme Court stood on the right side of history today after it struck down the practice of instant divorce called triple talaq, practiced by Sunni Muslims in the country.

In a 3-2 judgment, Justices Kurian Joseph, RF Nariman and UU Lalit struck down the practice of instant divorce, describing it as "illegal and sinful" and ruling that it violates the right to equality enshrined in the Indian constitution.

The Centre's 'City Liveability Index' Is Set To Become A Major Tracker Of Urban Indian Life

News that no Indian city made it anywhere close to the top of the latest list of most liveable cities in the world gets routinely buried in the inside pages of most newspapers. On the Internet too, such news does not figure high on the home pages of search engines, a sure way for the report getting buried somewhere deep in the cyber abyss.

Did Modi Mislead Parliament on the Number of Fake Ration Cards that Aadhaar Had Exposed?

There is no official data to back up the prime minister’s claim that the use of “Aadhaar and technology” had led to the discovery of nearly 4 crore bogus ration cards.

Nobody in the Narendra Modi government seems to know where the prime minister got the data on the basis of which he told the Lok Sabha that the use of technology and Aadhaar led to the discovery of 3.95 crore bogus ration cards (from 1:19 onwards in the video below), Right to Information Act activist Anjali Bharadwaj on Tuesday claimed at a press conference organised to “expose the false claims of the government about the benefits of Aadhaar”.

Political Love Fest: We Pledge To 'Protect' Women On Rakhi, But Forget To Treat Them As Equal Citizens

Misogyny remains misogyny even if you tie a rakhi on it. A woman ties "Rakhi" onto the wrists of a man sitting inside a passenger bus during Raksha Bandhan celebrations in Kolkata.

I don't know about brothers and sisters, but for politicians, Rakhi seems to have become the festival of binding ties. Politicians are very busy this Rakhi, tying themselves into knots.

Why Beef Politics Is Far More Dangerous Than The Historic Wrongs Of Ayodhya?

A court recently framed criminal conspiracy charges against BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and nine others in the 1992 Babri masjid demolition case. It's been fifteen years and the CBI has blown hot and cold on the case over the years. 

What a difference a decade or two makes. Once these leaders were described as hardliners and firebrands. Now in the age of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, they have been turned by Modi-Shah skeptics into the conscience of the party.

Analysis: Why The Farmers' Protests Could Be The Beginning Of A Turning Point For The BJP?

The ongoing farmers' protests in several states across India's geographical diversity is the first major non-sectarian mass movement confronting the Narendra Modi government. Unless handled adroitly, the stir has the potential to throw up a major challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi's political dominance.

Speciasl Report: Inside The Surreal Battle For Mind Control Playing Out In Rajasthan's Classrooms

From history to politics to math, text books are throwing caution to the wind, as teachers grow divided.

For someone who is courageously speaking truth to power, 51-year-old Mahavir Sihag is exceedingly soft spoken. On occasion, you have to remind him to speak louder, so that you can hear.

Now, It's Time For Cowpathy - A startup Is Looking To Rule India’s Cow Economy With Dung Soap And Urine Toothpaste

A cow is silhouetted in front of manure at the farm owned by French farmer Franck Pellerin (not pictured) in La Chapelle-Caro, central Brittany, France, September 2, 2015.

You’ve heard of ayurveda, the traditional Indian medical science. So have you about Unani, the Perso-Arabic healing science. Then there is homeopathy.

Now prepare for Cowpathy.

No, it is not a whole new medical system. It is a Mumbai-based company that makes consumer products said to have high medicinal value and completely based on the cow—it uses ingredients such as dung, urine, clarified butter or ghee, and others.

Is PM Modi's Reaction Against Lynch Mobs Sincere Or Empty Noise?

It took hundreds of people gathering in public places in several cities for Narendra Modi to break his vow of silence. A day after the #NotInMyName rallies rang out in spirited protests against the recent spate of lynching of Muslims in India, the prime minister spoke on social media against such crimes.

Gau bhakti, or devotion to the cow, isn't an acceptable reason to resort to violence, Modi said, citing the ever-convenient example of Mahatma Gandhi to uphold the value of ahimsa (non-violence) as a way of life.

Empty Promises: These UP Villages Were ‘Adopted’ By BJP Leaders—Only To Be Neglected And Abandoned

‘If the MP appears, we’ll beat him up. And then we'll ask, “Who the hell are you?"’

The Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna was launched by Narendra Modi amidst much fanfare a few months into his tenure as the Prime Minister. A "significant" date was selected – October 11 – famed social reformer Jayaprakash Narayan's birth anniversary. Under this plan, Members of Parliament from across political parties choose a village from their respective constituencies and ensure it becomes a "model village", by taking on the responsibility of developing its physical and institutional infrastructure. This process is romantically also termed as "village adoption" or sansad god liye gaon.

‘Maybe It Is Time To Change My Son’s Name’: The New Reality Of Being Muslim In India

Rumours, lies, violence and political support for bigotry embolden many Hindus to reveal hidden prejudices.

Saira does not call her son by his name when they are out of the house. “I prefer using J, it doesn’t have a Muslim ring to it,” said Saira, 40, a former colleague whose first name I have changed on her request and whose Muslim identity was never previously a point of discussion. “I cringe as I say this, but it is true.”

Whenever J asked his mother the difference between him and his friends, she always told him there was none. They were all Indian with different names, she said. That explanation, an evidently troubled Saira told me, is weakening at a time of uncommon anti-Muslim prejudice and violence.

No State Is Too Small For The Modi-Shah Grand Plan For The BJP

There's a crucial difference between this BJP and that of yore. A forceful drive to imprint the BJP's presence on unmapped political terrain, displayed by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, was a feature never seen in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-LK Advani era.

Its absence was not for want of ambition because the BJP's principal strategist of those times, Pramod Mahajan, was as obsessed with displacing the Congress as the principal "national pole" of the big guns of today.

Why Indian Liberals Are Falling Into The Hindutva Trap Again With 'Not In My Name' March?

It's disturbing how Muslims are lynched with the "beef" bogey so regularly, it has ceased to shock us. That is why, people in 11 cities will march silently today, black bands on their arms, placards screaming NOT IN MY NAME.

There is little doubt the BJP's rise has emboldened just about anybody to commit violence against Muslims in the name of beef. Those who belong to or support the BJP remain silent over these incidents, or worse, justify them in the name of the holy cow. Their beef is not with meat but with Muslims.

Is PM Modi's Reaction Against Lynch Mobs Sincere Or Empty Noise?

It took hundreds of people gathering in public places in several cities for Narendra Modi to break his vow of silence. A day after the #NotInMyName rallies rang out in spirited protests against the recent spate of lynching of Muslims in India, the prime minister spoke on social media against such crimes.

Gau bhakti, or devotion to the cow, isn't an acceptable reason to resort to violence, Modi said, citing the ever-convenient example of Mahatma Gandhi to uphold the value of ahimsa (non-violence) as a way of life. It's the same icon, by the way, who was called a "chatur baniya" a few days ago by the PM's close aide Amit Shah, who is also the president of the party leading the government at the Centre.

Opinion: Lynching The Diversity Out Of India

The new jungle justice system has obviously been given political imprimatur.

Junaid Khan, 15 years young, had gone for Eid shopping with his brothers to Delhi. He was never to return. On his way home to Ballabgarh, a hate-fuelled group of men pounced on him. He was stabbed during the attack and literally bled to death in excruciating pain. His brothers were assaulted too, but escaped with their lives. Beef eaters, yelled the rancorous chorus. No one in the train compartment helped. Junaid is the latest victim of the rising violent culture of cow-related mob lynching in India. It is a Frankenstein's monster on the loose taking giant strides. The ominous predator is out there as you read this.