VIJAYAWADA: The controversy surrounding the alleged clandestine meeting of YSRC MLA and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Buggana Rajendranath Reddy with BJP national leaders refused to die down with none other than Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu himself asserting on Thursday that the politics of collusion of the two parties was now clear as they were caught red-handed.
Citing the logbook of AP Bhavan in Delhi where it was mentioned that Buggana, who enjoys cabinet rank as the PAC chairman, travelled from a hotel in Delhi to South Avenue where BJP national leader Ram Madhav’s house is located, Naidu questioned as to how the YSRC MLA, being the PAC chairman, could reveal the report to the Centre when he was supposed to submit the same before the Assembly Speaker for placing the same in the House. “He (Buggana) is not supposed to submit the report to the Centre and act as a covert,’’ Naidu told media.
“How can YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy allow his party MLA to meet BJP general secretary (Ram Madhav) a day after the Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that setting up of a steel plant in Kadapa district was not viable?” he said.
“Instead of speaking up for the steel plant and other issues of the AP State Reorganisation Act, how can you resort to collusion politics? Instead of such secret affairs, the two parties should openly make it clear that they are going to fight together in the State in the coming elections,’’ he said.
Earlier in the day, Naidu held a meeting with his MPs and discussed the Delhi developments. The TDP MPs after meeting Naidu said, “There is no need for manipulation. In his capacity as the PAC chairman, Rajendranath Reddy is eligible for a government vehicle as per protocol. The details of his trip, right from being picked up at the airport in Delhi, were recorded in the logbook available with the driver,’’ Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas said and added they had evidence of Reddy calling on Ram Madhav at the latter’s residence.
Reacting to the accusations that Buggana met Ram Madhav in Delhi, BJP MLA from Rajahmundry Akula Satyanarayana, who was also seen in the video footage tweeted on Thursday by IT Minister Nara Lokesh, said the logbook was “fabricated”.
“In fact, Ram Madhav was in Hyderabad on Thursday attending a party meeting. There is no scope for the YSRC leader meeting Ram Madhav in Delhi,’’ he told TNIE.
Meanwhile, Naidu extended his support to his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, who has been fighting against the Centre for alleged misuse of the office of the Governor. In his tweet, Naidu said, “We express our solidarity with the Government of Delhi elected by people’’ and “The trend of using the Governor’s Office for Political benefits of the ruling party at the Centre, goes against the spirit of the Constitution’’. Interestingly, his observations came on a day when Governor of Telugu States ESL Narasimhan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and reportedly held discussions over the prevailing political situation in the two States.
Stating that there were several instances of misuse of the Governor system, the CM said recently Karnataka Governor acted at the behest of the Centre but the Supreme Court set aside his orders.
Naidu, who is set to leave for New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog General Council meeting on Sunday, is expected to meet several CMs. Sources said that he will call on Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan as well as some other CMs to seek their support for mounting pressure on the Centre so as to extract AP’s rightful dues.
A similar scheme is being implemented in Veda Patasala run by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The project’s success prompted the Trust Board to extend financial assistance to those pursuing courses at SVVU.
Student pursuing graduation (Sasthri) in Vedas will be given `3 lakh. For Sasthri (Agamas & Paurohithyam) course, the TTD will deposit `2 lakh.
For Acharya (PG) Vedas, Agamas, Paurohithyam `1 lakh will be deposited. For PG in Kalpam, Bhashyam and Vedangam, the amount will be `1.5 lakh and for MPhil, the amount will be `1 lakh.
PhD students will receive `10,000 per month in the first year; `12,000 per month in the second; and `15,000 per month in the third.
Other initiatives
Sri Venkateswara Vedic University Vice-Chancellor Pola Bhaskar said the university and the TTD had initiated several activities to promote the study of Vedas and spread awareness on their relevance to today’s science and technology.
The TTD has transferred all 102 Sanskrit patasalas in the country, which receive recurring grants from the TTD, to SV Vedic University. This will provide scope for students to have academic interaction and to pursue higher studies in SV Vedic University.
The VC is scheduled to visit Maharshi Sandeepani Samsthan, having 120 patasalas (schools) and Sanskrit institutions to enter into an MoU to urge students from Samsthan-run institutions to seek admissions in SVVU.
Institute of repute
SVVU to conduct examinations at all Veda patasalas in both Telanagana and AP.
Two national-level seminars to be held in October-September and February.