YSR Congress launches Jagan's sister as new party face

June 7, 2012

Hyderabad, June 7: Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister, Sharmila has now taken political centre stage in Andhra Pradesh after the YSR Congress chief put behind bars by the CBI.

Sharmila, whose speech and style are already drawing comparisons with her late father, is sweating it out on the campaign trail alongside her mother Vijayamma, playing the sympathy card and accusing Congress of witch hunting her family.

"They've sent Jagan behind bars. Why have they done that?" Sharmila said

The by-polls in 18 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat are being touted as a litmus test for the YSR Congress party. With less than a week left for the by-polls, the race for a win is heating up. Political stakes are high and it's no surprise that the Congress has called in star power Chiranjeevi and Ghulam Nabi Azad to campaign alongside the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. All of them defending CBI's move to arrest Jagan as apolitical.

"Even if Jagan was in Congress. he would have been prosecuted. These are his own misdeeds not Congress's," Azad said.

With Jagan behind bars, his sister Sharmila Reddy has emerged as the surprise campaigner for the YSR congress party. While she is succeeding in pulling crowds, party supporters are concerned whether or not she will be able to translate these large numbers on ground into votes.

Meanwhile, the election officials have seized a record Rs 32 crore in cash and Rs 9 crore worth valuables ahead of the by-polls on June 12. The muscle and money power, an indication perhaps, of the desperate political situation in Andhra Pradesh.

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'No place for sacrifice in politics': Akhilesh says will contest Maha polls alone if MVA keeps SP out

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October 27,2024

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav stated on Sunday, October 27, that his party is prepared to contest the Maharashtra Assembly elections independently if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) does not include them in the alliance.

Yadav assured that the SP would only contest in constituencies where it has a strong organizational presence and would ensure its participation does not affect the MVA’s overall prospects.

Several I.N.D.I.A. alliance members have expressed dissatisfaction with the Congress over seat-sharing arrangements in upcoming state polls.

Both the CPI(ML)L and the RJD voiced frustration after being offered only 3-4 seats each for the Jharkhand elections by the Congress.

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‘Don't fly Air India from Nov 1 to 19’: Khalistani terrorist Pannun's fresh threat

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October 21,2024

Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers not to fly on Air India flights from November 1 to 19. He asserted that an attack could take place on an Air India flight during the specified dates, which coincide with the "40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide".

The founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, had issued a similar threat around the same time last year.

Pannun's fresh threat comes amid several airlines in India receiving multiple threat calls about potential bombings, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. It also occurred at a time when India and Canada are engaged in a murky diplomatic row following Canada's allegations of India targeting Khalistani elements in the country, including the murder of another terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In November 2023, Pannun released a video claiming that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, warning people against flying on Air India that day. The National Investigation Agency charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In December last year, Pannun threatened to attack the Parliament on or before December 13, following reports of an alleged foiled plot to kill him. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

He also threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year. He also urged gangsters to unite and launch an attack on Mann on January 26.

Pannun has been designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020 on charges of sedition and secessionism, as he leads SFJ, a group advocating for a separate sovereign Sikh state. A year prior to this, India banned SFJ as an "unlawful association" for engaging in "anti-national and subversive" activities.

In another development, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Pannun, a charge New Delhi has rejected as baseless allegations.

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