Chandrababu Praja Garjana

TDP President Chandrababu Naidu is all set for his second round of Praja Garjana tour in Chittoor and Prakasham districts on Sunday to Tuesday to spread the message behind the assembly melodrama of congress and the YSRC.

TDP chief will address a massive public meeting at Tiruapti at the mjunicipal grounds in the evening explaining his stand for proper treatment of Seemandhra in the T bill and fight against corruption of congress regime. He will also address constituency wise and district level party meeting before night halt.

'Congress ministers and MLAs are themselves accusing Kiran of dirty play and amassing wealth on par with jagan' said Kambhampati Rammohan Rao, the tour organiser of TDP chief.

Later Chandrababu Naidu will leave for Ongole on Monday by road and address a public meeting as part of the Praja Garjana campaign in the district town.He will also address a district and constituency review meeting of Prakasam district Yeragondapalem, Santanutalapadu and Chirala during his stay at Ongole.

The Praja Garjana campaign of Naidu is aimed to counter the samaikya sankaravam meetings of YSRC president Jaganmohan Reddy who is spreading falsehood and confusion in the seemandhra population with his half truths and mischievous renderings at opposition parties

This ton is for my dad: Tendulkar

CENTURION: The mind went back to the 1999 World Cup in England. Sachin Tendulkar had to rush back to India after losing his father midway through the event. Tendulkar stayed in Mumbai for two days, then returned to England to do duty for the country and promptly score a century, against Kenya. Upon reaching three figures, Tendulkar looked heavenwards, stood still for a moment before acknowledging the cheers from the fans. He later said that he was looking upwards, hoping his father would have seen him do well and would be proud of his son.

On Sunday, as India celebrated his 50th Test century, Tendulkar again remembered his father. "Yesterday (Saturday) was my father's birthday. I dedicate this century to him. The first thing I thought of after reaching the hundred was my father."

Tendulkar, who thanked his fans for their 'fabulous' support over the years, said he was happy that the landmark is done with. Was he under any pressure because of the huge expectation? "You guys only created it," Tendulkar said pointing at the media, at the post-match PC. "You built the foundation on which I constructed my innings today."

Tendulkar was not sure how he should react when asked about his feelings. "Can't say how I'm feeling. I'm happy... Can't really express how I'm feeling."

But when a local journalist asked him if records meant a lot to him, Tendulkar reacted sharply. "I play for the love of the game. I have often requested for time out from cricket so that I can come back refreshed and fit. The Board has given me the rest. If I was after records, I won't ask for rest."

While reiterating that the toss played a crucial role in the Test, Tendulkar said that it could not be an excuse for the team. "The conditions were different on different days but we've to take that." He stressed that a good showing in the second innings was essential for India. "We needed to send a strong message that we're here to fight and I think we've done that."

What about his prolific batting in 2010 in which he has seven centuries in 13 Tests? Tendulkar's simple explanation was, "I've been playing well, been enjoying my batting. And in the last couple of years, I've been moving well." Read more on TOI

Tendulkar adds to legend and defies South Africa Read more: 1st Test: Tendulkar adds to legend and defies South Africa - The Times of India http://ti

CENTURION: The legend of Sachin Tendulkar continued to grow on Sunday as the Indian batting maestro hit his 50th Test century and shared a remarkable partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park.

It was almost certainly not enough to save his team from defeat, with India finishing the day on 454 for eight in their second innings, still 30 runs short of making South Africa bat again.

But it was an heroic effort which salvaged the reputation of an Indian side which took a battering in the first innings.

Tendulkar (107 not out) and Dhoni (90) put on 172 for the seventh wicket and defied the South African bowlers for a minute short of three hours.

"It was extremely important for us to come back strong and to send out a strong message," said Tendulkar, adding that the world's top-ranked Test team needed to recover from the first innings in which they were bowled out for 136 before conceding 620 for four declared when South Africa batted.

"I think we have been able to do that," said Tendulkar.

"Many positives have come out of this match. We just need to continue with this in the remaining part of the series."

It took a special delivery from fast bowler Dale Steyn to end the Tendulkar-Dhoni stand shortly before bad light and an approaching thunderstorm ended play for the day.

Steyn produced a vicious bouncer which Dhoni could only fend to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. In the next over Harbhajan Singh edged left-arm spinner Paul Harris to slip, almost certainly ending any hopes of a miracle reprieve for India, although more storms are forecast for the final day on Monday.

South Africa seemed set for an early win when they took four wickets before lunch, with a new ball available 13 balls after the break. At that stage India were 277 for six, still trailing by 207 runs.

But Dhoni counter-attacked in thrilling fashion and South Africa's new ball pair, Steyn and Morne Morkel, were on the receiving end of some cracking drives and cuts as Dhoni raced to a half-century off 40 balls with nine fours.

South African captain Graeme Smith was forced into making bowling changes with the ball still relatively new and Harris was brought on after 56 runs had been scored in nine overs against the new ball.

Having seen off the immediate threat of the pace pair, Dhoni settled down to play a more conventionally watchful innings and he made his 90 off 106 balls with 14 fours.

After the interval, the focus switched to Tendulkar, the highest-scoring batsman in international cricket history. Resuming at 80 he continued a calm innings during which he was seldom troubled.

He went to 95 with a straight six off Harris. On 97 he was beaten by a ball from Morkel which cut back and missed the inside edge of his bat. He pushed Steyn to midwicket for two, then drove the fast bowler to deep cover to reach his century after 258 minutes of watchful batting, during which he faced 197 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.

As he ran to complete the single he jumped in the air and lifted his bat to the heavens. No other batsman has scored more than 39 centuries in Tests.

"He's a great player," said South African spinner Harris. "It's just good for a player like me to be able to bowl to him."

Harris said he thought South Africa bowled well on what he described as a day of "proper" Test cricket.

"Dhoni and Tendulkar showed the fight we expected from them," he said. Read more on TOI

Govt gets ready for T-rouble

HYDERABAD: As the deadline nears for the Srikrishna Committee to submit its report on the contentious issue of division of the state, authorities have gone into an overdrive to handle any unrest.

While the state government has sought from the Centre 50 companies of paramilitary forces specifically for Hyderabad and its surroundings, the APSRTC management has begun installing iron grills on 500 of its buses to protect its drivers and passengers from stone pelters. The government has also initiated surveillance on key student leaders by Special Branch and Intelligence sleuths.

The state's request for 50 companies (each company has 100 personnel) is based on its assessment of the number of hot spots. These include Osmania University, Nizam and Saifabad Colleges, Secretariat, Assembly, DGP's office and premises of prominent advocates of united AP. In the preliminary security review meet held a few days ago, it was decided that about 17 companies of paramilitary forces would be deployed at the main troublespot - OU; seven in the central zone which includes Nizam and Saifabad colleges, Secretariat, Assembly and DGP's office; 2 in west zone; 5 in Cyberabad and the rest to be utilised as per the requirement.

"We have made request with the centre for 50 companies. They may not give us what we asked for but at least 35 companies at the minimum would be required," said an official.

Meanwhile, APSRTC, which suffered losses worth crores of rupees in the agitations, is also planning to give it's buses an armour against stones. Headed by former city police commissioner B Prasada Rao, APSRTC officials have adopted a police method and armed the buses' windshields and side windows with iron grills.

OU students under surveillance

According to APSRTC ED (Greater Hyderabad) G Jaya Rao, they have already made 500 iron grills and distributed them to 24 bus depots. "The grills will be fixed on buses operating in vulnerable areas," the ED said.

Osmania University, the usual trouble spot, is also facing the heat from an alert government. Special Branch and Intelligence sleuths are keeping an eye on student leaders of the OU-TSJAC. Following protests, the university authorities had put off most of the exams scheduled for Saturday.

However, the remaining exams are scheduled to be held under unprecedented security. While the authorities are apprehensive that the students would agitate and get the other exams too postponed, cops were wary that insistence on the part of the OU might precipitate violence expected after December 31. The exams are being held at 20 centres. Read More on TOI

Jagan flexi board kicks up a row in Anaparthi

ANAPARTHI (EAST GODAVARI): A controversial flexi board put up by Jagan fans created a furore in the town on Tuesday with dalits taking strong objection to the portrayal of minister P Shankar Rao.

Sources said dalit leaders are planning to stage a dharna during Jagan's tour of Anaparthi on Wednesday. They said Shankar Rao, a dalit, was insulted by showing him as a dog along with two other senior leaders -- K Keshava Rao and V Hanumantha Rao -- guarding Sonia Gandhi in the board, which had sprouted in Kutukuluru village in Anaparthi constituency in East Godavari.

The flexi board seeks to present the contrast between `banisatvam' (slavery) and `atma gouravam (self-respect).' While three dogs are shown under the title of `slavery' carrying the pictures of Shankar Rao, Keshava Rao and Rajya Sabha member VHR kneeling in front of Sonia, the caption `self-respect' shows the pictures of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and his son Jagan greeting the public.

Read more on TOI

Guntur boy wins silver in science olympiad

MUMBAI: Indian students have bagged three gold and an equal number of silver medals at the International Junior Science Olympiad (Ijso) held at Abuja in Nigeria.

Ijso, an annual individual and team competition in natural sciences for students in the age group of 14-15 years was held between December 2 and 11.

Aayush Sharma from Jaipur, Yash Gupta from Udaipur and Ashwin Sreenivas from Kochi, Kerala won the gold, while Harine Ravichandiran, N Bharath Sivaram from Chennai and Sai Akhil Suggu from Guntur notched the silver medals, P K Joshi from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education who led the team said on Tuesday.

Read more on TOI

ISB student's rotting body found in hostel

HYDERABAD: A highly decomposed body of an Indian School of Business (ISB) student was discovered by cops from the hostel room on Tuesday. Cops suspect that the man, Lakshminarayan Iyer (31), a Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) student from Chennai, had committed suicide a few days ago, probably due to depression brought on by health problems.

While his parents are settled in Mumbai, ISB sources said that Iyer, a bachelor, had worked in Bangalore for eight years in IT-enabled Services before joining the one-year PG programme. His body remained undiscovered as housekeeping staff had kept off the room since he had put a 'do not disturb' board. It was opened after the staff found a foul odour emanating from the room. He had last attended classed on Dec. 8. Read more on TOI

Hurdles ahead for Bill to check MFIs

HYDERABAD: The steps taken by the previous Rosaiah regime in reining in the micro financing institutions (MFIs) may not be followed up soon by the Kiran Kumar Reddy government. As a result, the Bill on MFIs, which is said to be opposed by some Congress legislators as well as the main opposition TDP, is unlikely to be passed easily. It is slated to come up for discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday.

According to sources, while the TDP has already written to deputy speaker Nadendla Manohar urging him to refer the Bill to a select committee, several ruling party members including chief whip M Bhatti Vikramarka and whip Kondru Murali have raised objections over the proposed legislation on the grounds that it would leave rural women more dependent on private money lenders.

Some Congress MLAs also expressed their reservations on the Bill stating that it would lead to chaos in villages as poor people would end up with no funds. Concerned over the impending financial crisis in rural areas, these MLAs have represented the matter to rural development minister Manikya Vara Prasad, who in turn asked them to convince self-help groups minister Sunitha Laxma Reddy to make appropriate changes in the proposed Bill.

"We are facing the wrath of SHGs who are hit by the MFIs' decision to stop fresh lending. I have asked my district minister to oppose this in the cabinet meeting," said an MLA from Guntur which has the highest number of MFIs. But another MLA who is in favour of the legislation said that opposition to the Bill is being drummed by the MFIs themselves. "They have lobbied with the MLAs," he said.

Read More

CBI set to file chargesheet in Mecca Masjid terror attack Read more: CBI set to file chargesheet in Mecca Masjid terror attack - The Times of India h

HYDERABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is all set to file the chargesheet in the Mecca Masjid blast case. The blast during Friday prayers at the historic mosque on May 18, 2007, had claimed nine lives.

According to sources, CBI's Special Crime Branch Team 3 will file the chargesheet in crime number RC 5, pertaining to Mecca blasts case in the court of XIVth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Nampally criminal courts complex.

The arrested accused in the case - Devender Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Nabakumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand and two absconding accused, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra - all belonging to right-wing fundamentalist outfits, are likely to be charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act. The other accused Sunil Joshi was shot dead by three persons in December 2007 near his house in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. Indresh Kumar, an RSS activist, might be named as an accused.

The chargesheet would be filed by additional SP (CBI) Tyagaraja Balaji, who is also the chief investigating officer of the case. The mandatory period for filing the chargesheet expired in September and the CBI sought and secured 90 more days to finish investigation from the local court. The time given by the court ends on December 14. Read more:

Maoists make a comeback in Nallamala

MAHBUBNAGAR/NIZAMABAD: As if the apprehensions over the entry of Maoists into north Telangana districts aren't enough, there are some reports that the rebels have made incursions into the thick Nallamala forests also, giving sleepless night to the cops.

If sources are to be believed, special dalams led by Maoist commander Bontha Parvathamma entered the Nallamala zone as part of the PLGA week celebrations. Sources said Parvathamma had sneaked into the Nallamala from Chhattisgarh where she has been operating for some years. "The Maoist leadership is going all out to make its presence felt in the areas where its leaders and cadres were driven out six years ago," sources said.

Parvathamma, who belongs to Lakshmapur village in Amrabad mandal of Mahbubnagar district, went underground after her husband Lingaiah was shot dead in an encounter 12 years ago in Yendabhatla forests in Nagarkurnool mandal. She shifted her base to Chhattisgarh and took part in famine raids and attacks on police stations.

Sources said she was sent back by the Maoist leadership to establish the cadre base in Nallamala region. Atchampet CI Kishan said they have noticed the movements of some dalams deep inside the jungles and interior villages. "We have intensified combing to flush out the rebels," he said. Senior police officials however ruled out the presence of a large number of armed dalams in Nallamala.

Meanwhile, after a gap of 5-6 years, Maoist movement was seen in Nizamabad and Karimnagar border areas. Sources said some armed Maoists paid tributes to the martyrs' pylons in the deep forest two days ago at Uppulur village in Kammarpalli mandal in Nizamabad and Varshakonda and Dabba villages in Karimnagar district. Read More