Ambitious Chiranjeevi

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: In the public domain, Chiranjeevi had so far been beating around the bush over his political ambitions. Within the four walls and amidst his close associates, Chiranjeevi, however, appears to be clearly stating that he has indeed marked the Chief Minister's position as his target.Take a look at the 9.20 minute video footage of his interaction with a group of youngsters – which is now available on the Internet – and you get a peep into his mind. "I am into politics not for the sake of securing power or position but only to serve the people. I am their servant," Chiranjeevi had been proclaiming ever since he declared his intention to quit the tinsel town and jump onto the political bandwagon.

Now, the latest video footage, which is suspectedly the product of a "sting operation," revealed at least a part of the "neo-politician" Chiranjeevi's mind. "People say I joined politics with some vested interest. I may say no but everybody has some 'hope' inside. But I am unable to guage what that hope is," Chiranjeevi noted. At that point, his audience pitches in with the suggestion that "becoming the Chief Minister" was his "hope." "Don't simply brush this thing aside when people say Chiranjeevi wants to become the CM. Just cut the topic," the actor-turned-politician said. Of course, he goes on say that the well-being of the society at large could be his "hope." Sitting in the conference room at his Praja Rajyam Party office in Hyderabad, flanked by bureaucrat-turned-politician T Chandrasekhar, Chiranjeevi was in a jolly mood all through as he apparently spoke his heart out to a group of people. Who his audience were was, however, not clear. One version was that they could be Information Technology professionals (going by what one of them spoke about the forum called Do IT) while another version was that they were a group of co-ordinators appointed by Praja Rajyam to ensure co-ordination between Chiranjeevi fans and party workers in each district. All through the meeting, Chiranjeevi referred to them just as "youngsters" and dropped no hint about their antecedents. Chiranjeevi's message, however, was clear: "I have no belief in the senior politicians who joined my party." He was categorical in asking the "youngsters" to keep a tab on the senior politicians in every district and report back to the party headquarters if anything went wrong in any district. "In a way you have to be the spies. Agents, rather," the Praja Rajyam chief told them. He, however, cautioned the youngsters to ensure that nobody smelt anything suspicious about their (spying) acts. Chiranjeevi assured the youth joining the Praja Rajyam Party that he was not the kind to "use, exploit and dump" them and their "sacrifices" would not go waste.

The illegal way of minting money, legally!

Desaraju Surya
My blood is boiling, even as I get down to write this piece. It’s DIWALI today, the festival of lights.… a day when millions of Indians literally burn wads of currency – albeit in the form of the stuff called fire crackers.
As a kid, I too had done the same, forcing my poor grandfather to spend tens of rupees (well, those were the days!) on crackers just to keep me “de-lighted.” Now, I am having to repay the debt by buying fire crackers for my 7-year-old son. Well, it was over 20 years now since I stopped indulging in the meaningless ritual on Diwali day but, for the past three or four years I have been left with no other option except to keep my little son delighted, just the same way my grandfather did when I was his pampered boy.
Till last year, buying crackers worth a few hundred rupees didn’t really pinch me. This year, however, it pained me immensely. For the first time, I had to buy crackers by weight and by the time I realized what it meant, it cost me a fortune. Just about ten small boxes of two or three items like sparkles and flower pots cost me Rs 500-plus. Ok, Rs 500 for once-in-year festival is not a big deal but the sheer way in which people have been exploited by unscrupulous traders was simply shocking.
When I discussed this with one of my dear friends MHK, he drove home the point that it was illegal to sell crackers by weight and they were supposed to be sold only at unit price. Immediately, I alerted two IAS officials and an IPS officer concerned and explained how people were being publicly looted. The IPS officer put his department officials on alert and one of his subordinates called me to enquire about the issue. I explained everything in detail to the junior officer and he coolly told me that there was nothing illegal about it. “As long as the crackers are sold within the maximum retail price fixed, traders are allowed to sell the items by weight,” he said.
I protested and said the MRP printed on the items itself was a big fraud.
Now, this leaves you with the impression that the traders are allowed to loot the public with the active support and connivance of the authorities concerned. After all, Andhra Pradesh is “GOD’s own administration” as the shameless rulers proclaimed! So there’s no point cribbing about anything.
I got back to my dear pal MHK and narrated the story. I told him it was the illegal way to mint money legally. Looting gullible public in a right royal fashion.
Now, this tells you how easy money-making can be. You no need to work hard, sweat it out or be sincere. Just go about your business unscrupulously and in just about a week yours can become a rags-to-riches tale. Mind you, it’s so simple that you can earn at least Rs 20 for every rupee you put in. Of course, you may have to grease the palms of certain authorities concerned but shelling out about 20-30 per cent out of say some 200 per cent is peanuts.
There are a few other ways of making easy money – like the one above – which I shall try to discuss later.

Meanwhile, I have decided to educate my son about the ill-effects of bursting fire crackers and shall counsel him by next year to stop indulging in the useless fun. Instead, I could buy some useful stuff for him with the same amount of money. MHK liked my idea.

A great show

DESARAJU SURYA at the India Aviation -2008.

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad played host to the first-ever civil aviation expo in India -- India Aviation 2008 -- at the Begumpet airport in the middle of October. As a journalist, I had the privilege of visiting the expo and covering the event.

Undoubtedly the biggest attraction at the show was the jumbo Airbus A-380, the double-decker aircraft that could carry over 850 passengers on board. It was a spectacular experience to watch the big bird fly and land. It was a great sight, indeed! As soon as the plane landed and taxiied on to the parking slot, I asked our photographer Aleemuddin to click my picture with the jumbo in the background. I couldn't resist the temptation. I also had the opportunity to board the plane for an inspection. It was, of course, not a fully-built regular plane and was just a test version. It had not more than 10 seats in all and was all wired. There were huge water tanks fitted inside the plane, basically to measure the gravity and other factors during flight. An Airbus official took us inside the plane and explained all its features. It was good to learn many things.

As part of the four-day expo, many other planes too landed in Begumpet, brining it to life once again after it was closed for commercial operations in the middle of this year. The other picture was taken with Air India's Boeing 747 in the backdrop. There was also a tiny two-seater plane brought from Australia - the Sport Star Plus.

The aviation expo provided a great photo-op and for one like me and I didn't miss it.

The Super Jumbo -- Airbus A380

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: The "super jumbo" has arrived, for the second time, in India. Hundreds of onlookers cheered in exaltation as Airbus' A380 entered the skies over the old Begumpet airport at Hyderabad for taking part in the India Aviation-2008 expo. Everyone watched in awe as the massive double-decker aircraft flew past the airport to take a U-turn and land in the right position. Hundreds of eyes stayed glued to the runway at Begumpet airport even an hour before the scheduled arrival of A380 as the visitors took vantage positions for catching a glimpse of the jumbo. At 12.22 pm, the A380 touched down the runway making little noise even as the awestruck visitors to the India Aviation-2008 clapped cheeringly. It was a breathtaking experience for the curious onlookers as it was the first time that they got to witness such a heavy-bodied aircraft in this part of the world. As the aircraft taxied to its designated parking slot – with its pilot John Mitchel waving the Indian tricolour from the cockpit, a water canon salute was offered. The A380 flew in from Toulouse – the Airbus' headquarters in France – carrying its chief executive officer John Leahy and three of his aides. Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel welcomed Leahy to India and particularly the India Aviation expo. The A380 presented a great photo opportunity not only for the media personnel but also each and everyone present at the air show, who captured the mighty aircraft in their mobile phones. The first time the A380 visited India was in May 2007 when Kingfisher brought it for demonstration in Mumbai. Kingfisher has placed orders with Airbus for six A380s, which are expected to be delivered by 2012.

TDP's knock-out punch

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: The ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh finds itself on the mat even as the general elections are just about four months away. The principal opposition Telugu Desam Party has delivered a virtual knock-out punch on the Congress by declaring its support for the formation of a separate Telangana state. More than anyone else, the TDP's support for Telangana will hurt the ruling party badly, if not maul it in the next elections. It's now a do-or-die situation for the Congress which rode to power in 2004 with the promise of delivering the Telangana state – a promise it failed to keep in the last four-and-a-half years. The indecisiveness on its part on Telangana will cost the Congress dearly in the next election, at least in this region where the number of Assembly seats has gone up from 107 to 119 after the delimitation. With all the major opposition parties – TDP, CPI, CPM and TRS – joining hands against the Congress, the ruling party will find the going extremely tough. Now, it is left with no other option except to take a policy decision on Telangana -- immediately. Even if the bloody 1969 agitation for Telangana is ignored, nobody can spare the Congress for raising the separate statehood bogey yet again in 1999. As Telangana became the TDP's citadel, the Congress desperately wanted to counter the then ruling party and hence raised the demand for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Congress legislators from the region formed a separate forum and the party was forced to constitute the Telangana Regional Congress Co-ordination Committee to placate the separatists in its ranks. The Telangana Congress Legislators' Forum passed a resolution demanding formation of Telangana and got it endorsed by the then opposition leader Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who is now the state chief minister. In 2001, K Chandrasekhar Rao quit the TDP to float the Telangana Rashtra Samiti espousing the cause of separate statehood. The BJP, though in favour of separate Telangana, had to remain quiet as it was in the company of TDP, which was a strong votary of a unified state. Thus, the Congress rode piggy back on the TRS holding the Telangana flag aloft and promising to carve out a separate state. Once in power, the Congress that headed a coalition government at the Centre got a three-member committee appointed, under the chairmanship of Pranab Mukherjee, to look into the Telangana demand. The committee eventually remained a farce, to say the least, and the Congress couldn't deliver Telangana. Much water has flown since 2004 and things have now come to such a stage where everybody is ready for Telangana except the Congress, the main proponent. Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief D Srinivas admits the TDP decision would put his party under pressure on Telangana. "As the national party, it is only the Congress that can deliver Telangana. But we can't act in haste as a lot of issues are involved. The TDP has nothing to lose by announcing its support for a separate state," Srinivas observed. The pro-Telangana lobbyists in the state Congress have, however, started making enough noices on the separate state issue in the run-up to the elections.