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Pawan Secret Survey On ‘Special Status’

Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan has been questioning state and central governments regarding several issues in Andhra Pradesh. While he is fighting against the government for ‘Special Status’, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu objects saying package is best solution and there will be no additional benefits with special status. It is learnt that, Pawan Kalyan is conducting a secret survey to know whether people of Andhra Pradesh really want special status or they are happy with package. If at least half of the people are wishing special status, Pawan is said to have decided to continue protests against government. If not, he is said to have focus on what the people should demand central government. Seems like, Pawan is waiting for outcome of his secret survey to take next step in politics!

Pannerselvam Vs Sasikala For CM Post

Tamil Nadu politics are taking new twists and turns. Yesterday, O Pannerselvam stated that AIDMK party men forced him to resign as Chief Minister. He said today that a judicial inquiry will be instituted into Jayalalithaa's death. Restating that he would prove his majority in the Assembly, he appealed to all MLAs they should take a firm decision taking into account the feelings of the people in their constituencies. DMK working president MK Stalin reacted on the matter saying, "Jayalalithaa has smiled at me in the Assembly. Can Ms. Sasikala question Jayalalithaa on this?", in a reference to her comments on Mr. Panneerselvam getting the backing of the DMK. "Do not drag the DMK into this. If you have guts, first answer allegations raised by OPS." Panneerselvam says he will accept Deepa's [Jayalalithaa's niece] support, if offered. He says he didn't meet Jayalalithaa in Apollo Hospitals. Sasikala says Pannerselvam will be removed from the primary membership of the party soon. Newly-appointed party treasurer Dindigul Srinivasan says all MLAs are behind Sasikala. AIADMK MLAs' meet has begun at party headquarters in Chennai just a while ago.

Balakrishna PA Thrown Out

Nandamuri Balakrishna has finally ousted his personal secretary (PA) Sekhar whose one sided decisions, corruption charges and arrogance troubled the TDP's cadre in Hindupur constituency. TDP's cadre previously appealed Balakrishna to get Sekhar out of the constituency. However, the Gautamiputra Satakarni didn't oblige them. Huge protests were made by the TDP activists and leaders in the constituency from past couple of days. TDP leaders arranged a crucial meeting on Sunday. Two ZPTC's tendered their resignations while several others issued an ultimatum to Balakrishna to remove Sekhar.  They announced to resign from the party, if Sekhar was not removed. They have also decided to start relay hunger strike at NTR’s statue in Hindupur. Finally, Balakrishna had to oblige to the TDP's cadre by removing his PA Sekhar whom he directed to leave the constituency immediately. They alleged that Sekhar has been resorting to severe corrupt practices and ignoring local TDP leaders for the last two and half years misusing the name of Balakrishna.

First Shock To Sasikala From Own Party Leader

AIADMK leader PH Pandian dropped a bombshell, raising suspicions over former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death. He hinted that, the death did not occur under natural circumstances. He also questioned the promotion of Sasikala as the party general secretary and the legislature party leader. Pandian's is the first strong and serious note of dissent in AIADMK. “Jayalalithaa told me once that she didn't want Sasikala Natarajan to be Tamil Nadu CM,” said Pandian, adding, "Sasikala cheated us and wants to be the chief minister. We oppose it." Pandian questioned the secrecy surrounding the death of Jayalalithaa. He pointed out the role played by Sasikala's family when Jayalalithaa was in hospital. "There is no need for a postmortem. Even circumstantial evidence is enough. When Jayalalithaa didn't make Sasikala even a counselor in her life time, how could Sasikala become general secretary of the party," Pandian asked.

Jayalalithaa Death Mystery Unveiled

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was rushed to hospital on 22 September and spent over 75 days there, until she succumbed to a cardiac arrest and died on 5 December. Opposition leader Stalin and few others demanded that the state government should release a white paper on the treatment meted out to Jayalalithaa. Interestingly, a day after Chinnamma Sasikala was nominated as new chief minister of Tamil Nadu, British doctor Richard Beale who treated Jayalalithaa in the hospital revealed important details of the former CM’s deteriorating health and the treatment provided to her in the situations kept secret till now.  Beale and other doctors made the following revelations in a press press briefing today: Beale said that Jayalalithaa was conscious while she was brought in an ambulance from her home in Chennai’s Poes Garden to the city’s Apollo Hospital on the night of September 22 last year. Different theories had been floating since months now speculating the condition in which Jayalalithaa was taken to the hospital. Jayalalithaa was admitted for fever and dehydration and put on ventilator occasionally in the hospital. She also interacted with people often. P Balaji of Madras Medical College and K Babu of Apollo Hospitals had signed in election forms on which her thumb impression was taken, Beale said. The said affidavit was taken for nominating party candidates for elections in two seats and a bypoll contest last year. Beale said that there was possibility of sepsis, which is the body’s response to an infection, to have spread fast across Jayalalithaa’s body and caused damage to other organs. Beale added, however, that Jayalalithaa had shown signs of recovery and that she was responding to the treatment. Beale said that the doctors were not clear on the source of the infection but found after repeated tests that the infection was, indeed, present in her blood. “So bacteria were going from the blood and that was where the infection was identified and resulted in her general poor condition.” Jayalalithaa was known to be a patient of diabetes and high blood pressure.

BCCI Media Manager Resigned

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) has decided to remove all the staff associated with ex-president Anurag Thakur’s office. Indian cricket team’s media manager Nishant Jeet Arora, who is close to Thakur, has also resigned. Reports state that, Nishant Arora allegedly leaked dressing room information to Thakur and created rift between players. Arora was confronted by a senior member during India's tour of USA last year where they played two T20Is against West Indies for allegedly creating rift between the aforementioned player and coach. The BCCI office in New Delhi, from where Thakur, who used to operate on most occasions will be handed over to a new management. The COA will appoint a caretaker for the BCCI Office in Delhi soon. The Supreme Court, last month, had appointed a four-member panel led by Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Former Indian women’s team captain Diana Edulji, historian Ramachandra Guha and Vikram Limaye, Managing Director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company, are the other members of the panel.

Swine Flu Spreading Across Country

The H1N1 influenza virus, known as swine flu, is spreading panic across the country with deaths being reported from several States over the years. The disease is inclined to to appear when the temperatures dip and winter arrives. The issue is that the disease spreads through air and not via a vector, as in dengue, and thus transmission is more rapid. Swine Influenza is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza virus and spreads from person to person through coughing, sneezing or through touch. The medicine generally prescribed for the disease is Tamiflu, which must be taken only under doctor’s prescription. “So awareness among people about the precautions they can take at their level can play a vital role in checking the spread of the disease,” advice doctors.

Sasikala’s Achievement Far Superior To Devi

Sasikala swears in as the new Tamil Nadu chief minister sometime this week. It will be the fastest rise to power by anybody in Indian politics, except Bihar’s Rabri Devi, who was asked to keep the chair warm for her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav when he had to step down on corruption charges two decades ago.  Rabri was an illiterate housewife and an absolute neophyte, but she went on to rule the state for three truncated terms. In comparison, Sasikala has a whole term ahead of her; and unlike Rabri, it’s no stop-gap arrangement. Her chief ministership will be real, she will be her only boss and there will be no time out. Although Sasikala got extremely lucky to become the first chief minister in India whose only claim to the post is her role as a caregiver to an incumbent who died in harness, it’s truly a daunting task because she will now be the executive head of a state with constitutional obligations. Moreover, she has to fit into the shoes of J Jayalalithaa, who was both a mass leader and one of the most experienced politician-administrators in the country.

Balakrishna Facing Problems With PA

On February 5th Telugu Desam Party workers of Hindupuram are organizing a meeting to discuss about the local MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Personal Assistant (PA) Sekhar’s anarchies. It is heard that, they already had a meeting at former MLA CC Venkatarayudu’s home to discuss about the matter. They claim that, Sekhar is behaving like a monarch and is filing cases against those who are opposing him. They warn to resign from party, if anybody tries to cancel the meeting. On the other hand, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and Balakrishna are yet to react on the issue, though they might have decided on what to do on this. But, the thing is Sekhar has indirectly damaged Balakrishna’s image with his acts, opine political analysts. What will Chandrababu and Balakrishna decide about Sekhar? Will they allow tomorrow’s meeting?

Sasikala To Replace Panneerselvam As CM

The legislators of Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK will attend a crucial meeting on Sunday afternoon amid speculations that party general secretary VK Sasikala may replace chief minister O Panneerselvam. The buzz over Sasikala’s appointment as CM came against the backdrop of the party politically rehabilitating several leaders who were shunned by Jayalalithaa, the charismatic Tamil Nadu leader who died in December after complications following a cardiac arrest. The move is being seen as a play to thwart Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakaumar, who is said to be in touch with a section of AIADMK leaders before announcing her political plan on the late CM’s birthday on February 24 amid talks of a possible succession tug-of-war. Sasikala has been Jayalalithaa’s closest aide since the 1980s. She has been taking care of party affairs, although she never held any formal position in the AIADMK before Jayalalithaa’s death.

Budget 2017: Income Tax Slabs

In the Union Budget announced today, Finance Minster Arun Jaitley assured honest tax payers that they will be treated with dignity. In a bold move the Finance Minister took personal tax measures which will put more money into the hands of tax payers. He halved income tax rates for individuals earning Rs 2.5- 5 lakhs today. Here is Income Tax Slab 2017: Income Slab                                        Tax Rate Income up to Rs 3 lakh                             Nil Income from Rs 3 lakh to 5 lakh                 5% Income from 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh               20% Income from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakhs       30% Income from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore         30% + 10% surcharge Income above Rs 1 crore                           30% + 15% surcharge

Ban On Cash Transactions Above Rs 3 Lakhs

In a bid to take tough action on black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed to ban all cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh effective April 1, 2017. The decision taken is based on the recommendation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money that was set up by the Supreme Court.  “No transactions above Rs 3 lakh should be permitted in cash. The government has decided to accept this suggestion,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech. The government will be required to make this change through the finance bill.  But Jaitley did not say whether the Government intends to accept the SIT’s other suggestion—a cap on cash holding of Rs 15 lakh. Experts say this will help the government’s war on black money and open up another flank and combined with GST, such a proposal could go a long way.

Union Budget 2017 Highlights

Finance minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha today. Here are the highlights of the Union Budget: *Merger of Railways Budget with General Budget brings focus on a multi-modal approach for development of railways, highways and inland water transport  *Only transient impact on economy due to demonetisation; long term benefit include higher GDP growth and tax revenue  *Govt took two tectonic policy initiatives - passage of GST Bill and demonetisation  *36 pc increase in FDI flow; forex reserves at USD 361 billion in January enough to cover 12 months needs  *Mini labs by qualified local entrepreneurs to be set up for soil testing in all 648 krishi vigyan kendras in the country  *Spend more in rural areas, infra, poverty alleviation, while maintaining fiscal prudence as guiding principle of Budget  *Allocation under MNREGA increased to 48,000 crore from Rs 38,500 crore. This is highest ever allocation  *Target of agriculture credit fixed at Rs 10 lakh cr in 2017-18  *National Testing agency to conduct all examinations in higher education, freeing CBSE and other agencies  *133-km road per day constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana as against 73-km in 2011-14  *Govt to set up dairy processing fund of Rs 8,000 crore over three years with initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore  * 1 cr households to be brought out of poverty under Antodya Scheme  * Participation of women in MNREGA increased to 55 pc from 45 pc in past  *Dedicated micro-irrigation fund to be created with a corpus of Rs 5000 crore  *We propose to provide safe drinking water to 28,000 arsenic and fluoride affected habitations  *To construct one crore houses by 2019 for homeless. PM Awas Yojana allocation raised from Rs 15,000 cr to Rs 23,000 cr  *100 pc electrification of villages to be completed by May 2018  *27,000 cr on to be spent on PMGSY; 1 cr houses to be completed by 2017-18 for houseless  *PM Kaushal Kendras will be extended to 600 districts; 100 international skill centres to be opened to help people get jobs abroad  *The allocation for rural agriculture and allied sector in 2017-18 is record Rs 1,81,223 crore  *A system of annual learning outcome in schools to be introduced; innovation fund for secondary education to be set up  * 1.5 lakh health sub centres to be converted to Health Wellness Centres  *National Housing Bank will refinance indiviual loans worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2017-18  *Rs 500 cr allocated to set up Mahila Shakti Kendras; Allocation raised from Rs 1.56 lakh cr to Rs 1.84 lakh cr for women & child welfare.  *Capital and development expenditure pegged at Rs 1.31 lakh cr for railways in 2017-18 from Budget  *Allocation for SCs increased from Rs 38,833 cr to Rs 52,393 cr, a rise of 35 per cent  *35 pc increase in allocation for SC to Rs 52,393 cr  *For senior citizens, Aadhaar based health cards will be issued  *Model Shops and Establishment Bill to open up additional opportunities for employment of women  *Total allocation for rural, agriculture and allied sectors for 2017-18 is a record Rs 1,87,223 cr, up 24 per cent from last year 

Union Budget 2017: Ask Jaitley On Twitter

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is presenting the Union budget 2017-2018 in Lok Sabha. This is the fourth budget by the Narendra Modi government. Jaitley said the demonetization move by Modi on November 8, 2016 will not have a lasting impact on the economy. After presenting the Budget, Jaitley will reply to questions by Twitterati on the Budget proposals. The questions to Jaitley can be asked on Twitter by using hashtag #MyQuestionToFM. The first part of the Budget session will continue till February 9 and after a month long recess the second part will commence from March 9. The first part of the session has been kept brief in view of the upcoming assembly Polls in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.

Historic Features Of Union Budget

It was speculated that the budget could be postponed by a day after former minister of state for external affairs and Lok Sabha MP E. Ahamed passed away at the RML Hospital in the national capital in the wee hours of today after suffering from heart attack. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is right now presenting the Union Budget 2017.   This year's budget is historic in several ways. The budget is for the first time being presented on February 1, earlier it was February end event. The government is aiming at implementing the budgetary provisions from the beginning of the financial year which is April 1.    Another historic feature of this year's budget is that instead of a separate Rail Budget presented by the Railways Minister, allocations for the railways will be presented as part of the General Budget by the Finance Minister himself.

IT Raids On Nithin Regarding GPSK

Income Tax sleuths have conducted raids on few people who have connections with Natasimha Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 100th film “Gautamiputra Satakarni”. And one among them is actor Nithin. Nithin’s dad Sudhakar Reddy co-owned Global Cinemas released GPSK in Nizam area. Recently, Nithin announced two films and his dad too proclaimed to produce few films under their home production. IT officials also conducted raids at offices of First Frame Entertainment. Rajeev Reddy, one of the producers of GPSK was targeted by the department for verification of documents, etc.  It is yet not known whether the IT officials found anything in the offices of production houses!

Surgery Done, Dasari Is Recovering

Filmmaker Dasari Narayana Rao was admitted in KIMS hospital last night, as he was suffering from breathing problem, kidney failure and several organs issues. He was given ventilator support. As per latest bulletin released by the doctors, Dasari is now responding well to the treatment. A surgery was performed on the alimentary canal, which was infected. They hoped that he would fully recover in a couple of days. Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav too said that, Dasari is responding to the treatment and he will recover soon.

BJP Leader Backs Ban On Muslim Countries In US

BJP lawmaker Yogi Adityanath from Gorakhpur has praised USA President Donald Trump's temporary ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries and said similar action is needed to check terrorism in India. The lawmaker also alleged during his speeches that the situation in western Uttar Pradesh is similar to the Kashmir Valley around three decades ago, when "Kashmiri Pandits were terrorized and forced to leave". The situation, he claimed, was especially grim in Muzzafarnagar, Baghpat, Meerut and Ghaziabad.  He accused the ruling Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP of allowing it to happen with their policies over the years. "What happened in Kashmir in 1990...the same is going to happen in UP," the lawmaker said, adding, "BJP is committed not to let this happen anymore. We have lost Kashmir Valley, but we cannot let western Uttar Pradesh to become second Kashmir."

Dasari Narayana Rao Is On Ventilator

KIMS Hospital officials have released an official statement to unveil health condition of veteran director and former Union Minister Sri Dasari Narayana Rao. Doctors started to treat Dasari gaaru with dialysis and supporting on ventilator. His body is said to be reacting positively to the treatment. To control the infection, a chest surgery is planned for the day. They will officially update the next health bulletin post operation. Tollywood celebrities are worried about Dasari’s health condition. Dasari’s close aide Mohan Babu visited Dasari at the Hospital and enquired doctors about his health condition. Dasari has been suffering from several health issues from sometime now is on medication. In fact, the veteran filmmaker turned weak psychologically, after his wife Padma passed away few years ago.