Andhra Pradesh Neta Natter | Naidu Imbibes Vatican To Slam Jagan

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu turned Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy's latest reference to Amaravati into a fresh dose of political satire, quipping that Andhra Pradesh should be “thankful he didn’t call it Vatican” after the former chief minister coined the term ‘MAVIGUN’ – a catchphrase covering Machilipatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur regions. Not one to let go of a good opportunity to put down his bete noire, Naidu said Jagan seemed determined to invent everything except the word ‘Amaravati’ when it comes to the new capital for Andhra Pradesh. For Naidu, it is only Amaravati, and as far as YSRC is concerned, it is the one that is trying hard to derail the new capital city from coming up. As far as Naidu is concerned, Jagan dislikes even uttering the name Amaravati, and prefers unusual aliases instead, making it uncertain whether the former CM is ignorant, or deliberately attempts to muddy the waters, which according to Naidu, is for the people to judge.

In AP, it’s beer versus soft drinks

Bitter? Or sweet? That was the question MLA and TD’s AP chief Palla Srinivasa Rao attempted to grapple with the other day. The Gajuwaka MLA, apparently a bit excited over proposals to set up beach shacks at Visakhapatnam, pitched for beer as a far better drink when it comes to health than aerated soft drinks. Teetotaller he may be, but Rao was clear when he said that a standard soft drink bottle of 335 ml contains 35 to 40 grams of sugar, while a 650 ml bottle of beer barely has any sugar. That soon set off a debate in this seaside city with folks saying they prefer taking gulps of soft drinks with their biryanis instead of quaffing beer, adding when that beer goes down, some of it gets turned into sugar anyway, and raising the question of why when beer drinking is warned as harmful, no such warning comes with the sugary soft drinks. Whether beer gets sold or not at the beach shacks when they come up, one thing could be certain – cops standing not far away with breathalysers to catch anyone tipply and attempting to drive a vehicle.

MLA Koneti left in the lurch

Satyavedu MLA Koneti Adimulam’s supporters appear to have started the celebrations a little early. After staying away from the TD affairs following his suspension over allegations involving a woman, the MLA’s camp reportedly began spreading the word that he was returning to the party fold. The talk gained momentum in the constituency, with some projecting his movements and local appearances as signs of the leadership opening its doors again. But before the welcome back banners could come out, the TD leadership stepped in with a reality check. District party chief Panabaka Lakshmi made it clear that the suspension continues, and that K. Shankar Reddy remains the official boss for party affairs in Satyavedu. The clarification has created an awkward political picture for Koneti, who continues as the MLA without the party steering, while Shankar has the party steering without the MLA chair. So for now, Satyavedu's TD cadres have two addresses to visit. One for the elected representative, and another for the party representative. The only thing missing is a direction board saying where workers should go first.

Nimmala goes boating as waters dry up for farmers

The poor rains so far, thanks to El Nino impact on the monsoon, has had farmers in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district up in arms against water resources minister Nimmala Ramanaidu, who was seen in some recent videos supervising his aquaculture farm and feeding shrimp going around in a boat in the tanks. Farmers are reportedly furious that while the minister was tending to his own aqua tanks, he has done nothing to ensure irrigation canals are desilted, and water reaches thirsty farmlands. With the water levels in Godavari rising at the Dowleswaram barrage, the minister did rush there to review the situation and instructed the officials to take steps to facilitate free flow of water to farmers in Konaseema. But this was too little, too late, according to the farming community which by all indications is pretty upset at the minister likening him to emperor Nero reportedly playing the fiddle while Rome was burning.

Balineni oversteps his unofficial authority

For months, Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan have been stressing one simple message: protect the NDA alliance at all costs. Enter Jana Sena leader Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, who seems determined to test just how strong that bond really is. Fresh from his switch from YSRC to Jana Sena, Balineni has been lavish in his praise for Pawan but he also appeared to don the role of TD's unofficial disciplinary authority. His advice? Any TD leader contesting a local body seat allotted to Jana Sena should be suspended immediately. A bold suggestion — except for one minor detail: Balineni isn't in TD. He doesn’t decide who gets a party ticket, let alone who gets suspended, and folks in the TD have already had their feathers ruffled over his comments declaring that public sermons on disciplining a partner party rarely strengthen alliances.

Delay in opening hostel shows cracks in the building, and NDA

The inauguration of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya hostel in Vaddadi, Buchayyapeta Mandal, Anakapalli district, has been postponed once again, drawing sharp criticism from residents. This Type-4 hostel, constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 2 crore, was initially scheduled to open next to the Kovela Appanadora Zilla Parishad High School on October 16, 2024. However, the inauguration was delayed due to infighting among leaders of the NDA coalition. Officials later rescheduled the event for July 7. Students, parents, and community leaders gathered for the occasion, only to learn that it had been cancelled due to MLA K.S.N.S. Raju's absence. Allegations of factional rivalry within the TD have emerged, particularly between MLA Raju and housing corporation chairman Bathula Tataiah Babu which is said to have sparked the MLA’s absence. Amidst all this, concerns have been raised regarding construction quality due to visible cracks on the building.

TG, AP still undivided... on letterheads

Some government files move slowly. This one appeared to move backwards in time. The Telangana government's panchayat raj and rural development department found itself at the centre of online ridicule after an official memo surfaced carrying the letterhead ‘Government of Andhra Pradesh’ — a title that vanished with the state's bifurcation nearly 12 years ago. Issued by Special Chief Secretary Dana Kishore, the communication instructed district collectors to organise orientation programmes for Praja Palana Pragathi Pranalika, and other Telangana-specific initiatives. Ironically, while every paragraph spoke the language of Telangana's governance, the letterhead stubbornly clung to the undivided past. The vintage header was quickly spotted by social media users, who flooded timelines with memes, sarcasm and questions over how such a basic error escaped official scrutiny. The department swiftly replaced the memo with a corrected version bearing the Telangana government letterhead, but by then the original had already gone viral.

Ministers make headlines in absentia

In Telangana's corridors of power, what ministers do outside meeting rooms is increasingly making bigger headlines than the meetings themselves. The latest Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy generated less buzz than the conspicuous absence of endowments minister Konda Surekha. Although she was reportedly in Hyderabad, she skipped the Cabinet, setting off speculation that she was unhappy over not being consulted on the appointment of the chairman and members of the Yadagirigutta Temple Board. If that kept political circles busy, tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao added a visual twist. While the Chief Minister was chairing a review meeting of the tourism department in Hyderabad, Jupally was nowhere in the conference room. Instead, he was making waves — quite literally. The minister uploaded a video on X showing himself taking a leisurely swim in the agricultural well at his farmhouse in Kollapur. The contrast was hard to miss: one minister absent amid political whispers, another absent but highly visible on social media.

When Surekha threw a fit... and Kadiam rolled his eyes

There is never a dull moment in politics, especially when a bunch of people within a party do not get along. And if that party happens to be the Congress, with its famed "internal democracy" a bit of wrangling in public could well be par for the course. The latest such incident to spill over is the battle between minister Konda Surekha, and MLA Kadiam Srihari, both from the erstwhile Warangal district, with Surekha reportedly complaining to the party high command, and the local command as well, alleging and charging Kadiam of stepping out of his bounds by holding review meetings with endowments department officials, a portfolio that Surekha holds. Kadiam came up with his explanation – a review is when officials come to him, and not when he goes to meet with them to discuss an issue. Surekha has been reportedly feeling not too happy for a while with state of affairs when it came to her in the party, and in the government, while Kadiam, who won on a BRS ticket and for all practical purposes, threw his lot with the Congress, is officially still a BRS MLA. All eyes are on the Gandhi Bhavan, the TPCC headquarters now on how it will deal with this conundrum.

Contributions from Md Ilyas, Pathri Rajasekhar, KMP Patnaik, Vadrevu Srinivas, Aruna, Avinash P. Subramanyam, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Balu Pulipaka