Hyderabad: As the war of words between Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu intensified, their parties, the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) respectively, vied with each in making tall promises sensing possibility of mid-term elections, in a year marked by a Telugu superstar`s political ambitions.
Naidu, who is also the convener of United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) -- perceived to be the Third Front on the national level -- hosted a conclave of the allies in Vijayawada on Nov 25 that vowed to launch a nation-wide movement in support of farmers` demands.
The TDP leader, who was defeated in the previous Assembly polls because of his pro-urban policies, has now supported cooperative loans` waiver for farmers and a special fund for providing remunerative price to agricultural produce.
The later part of the year was abuzz with Chiranjeevi`s possible entry into politics. The 52-year-old star belongs to the numerically dominant Kapu community, a factor that weighs heavy on the minds of all state leaders. On his part, Chiru, as he is known in film circles, has told his fans to wait for him to announce his political plans.
Political parties believe that Chiranjeevi can recreate the magic of NTR, a matinee idol who stormed to power in 1983 within nine months of floating TDP, thus ending the Congress monopoly.
A carefully cultivated pro-farmer image of the Congress government suffered a further setback when eight people were killed and several injured in a police firing at Mudigonda in Khammam district on July 28 during a state-wide bandh called by Left parties demanding land for the poor.
During the year, the CPI and CPI(M), the estranged pre-poll allies of the ruling party, moved closer to the TDP and made common cause with it on issues pertaining to farmers, particularly the demand for increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy.
On his part, Naidu, whose pro-reforms and pro-urban image was perceived to be his undoing in the previous elections, made a political somersault and promised free power to farmers, an idea that he had detested while in power.
During its Mahanadu, the annual general meeting held in May, the TDP decided to formulate an alternative economic policy that is pro-poor.
Since then, Naidu has been promising all things: house sites to urban poor, unemployment doles for the youth, waiving of cooperative loans for farmers and a special fund for providing remunerative price to agricultural produce.
Terror comes calling on Hyderabad
The IT-savvy Andhra Pradesh capital emerged as a soft terror target during the year, although it got some respite from Naxal violence.
After blasts at a Sai Baba temple in 2005 and the police task force office in 2006, terrorism revisited the city in May, shattering the calmness of Friday prayers, followed by more deadly bombings at a popular eatery and a public park in August.
The probe into the blasts has led to a startling trail: that about 10 kg of RDX was smuggled into the city and only a small portion of it was used in the Mecca mosque blast. The remaining deadly explosive material remains untraced, according to the police.
The August 25 near-simultaneous bombings at Lumbini Park -- bang opposite the State Secretariat -- and Gokul Chat Bhandar in another area sent shock waves across the country.
Over 40 people lost their lives while watching a laser show at the park and having their favourite north Indian snack. The twin blasts came exactly 100 days after the mosque explosion.
The Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) has been blamed for the bombings. Abdul Shahed alias Bilal, a native of Moosarambagh here, and a key HuJI operative has emerged as the mastermind behind the blasts in the city and elsewhere in the country.
An Interpol red corner notice has been issued against him, who is now said to be operating from Pakistan and Bangladesh. About 30 suspects, including Shahed`s brother Majeed, have been arrested.
Human rights activists cried foul over what they called harassment of Muslim youths by police in the investigation of the bombings.
Meanwhile, Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a city-based political party, forced its way on to the political scene. Some MIM legislators along with scores of their supporters attacked controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen at the Press Club here where she had came to release the Telugu version of her novel `Shodh`.
MIM lawmaker from Karvan, Afsar Khan, allegedly assaulted the staff on duty, including some women medicos, at Niloufer Government Children`s Hospital on December 2 over a scuffle involving a party activist.
The assault led to an 11-day strike by junior doctors. The strike was called off following a High Court directive on December 12. But the stir resumed after another MIM MLA Ahmed Pasha Qadri allegedly took the side of the relatives of a dead patient, Zakeera Begum, an undertrial prisoner, who attacked a women medico. The government issued an ordinance on December 17 to prevent attacks on doctors.
Bureau Report
