Neta Natter | Owaisi Pokes Fun At Jail Waitlist

Which politician may end up in jail next, and when, especially with cases against BRS leaders — apparently are the hot topics that none can stay away from, and this was the case with Hyderabad MP and MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. At the inauguration of the Aramghar-Nehru Zoo flyover the other day, Owaisi recalled how he had spent 50 days in prison when N. Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister of unified AP. Owaisi went on to say it was getting to be a “usual” thing for politicians to spend some time behind bars, and as part of praising Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s practice of not forgetting a friend, recalled how Revanth sometime ago was seen in a snap with a former jail mate. Then, with his tongue firmly in his cheek, wondered out aloud — looking at Revanth on the dais — as to whose turn it would be next to go behind bars. Was he hinting that someone from the BRS was all set to enter a prison, was the question that frantically began doing the rounds soon after.

SAAS-BAHU POLITICS IN PALAKURTHY

Proxy politics is the hot topic in Palakurthy constituency in Telangana. And apparently with good reason too. When elections came around in 2023, H. Jhansi Reddy wanted to contest from Palakurthy but her citizenship issues nixed her plans. She found a workaround and her daughter-in-law M. Yashashwini Reddy was fielded as the Congress candidate and went on to win the election. While this hasn’t yet turned into a Bollywood style clash between daughter and mother-in-law, Jhansi Reddy had a survey done in the constituency following one year of the Congress winning the last elections, and the results were, well, not what she hoped for apparently. With Yashashwini being the MLA, people apparently preferred to approach her and this reportedly has not gone down well with Jhansi Reddy. Also discovered during the survey was that people of Palakurthy are frankly confused as to who called the shots when it came to their problems — the mother or the daughter-in-law.

KINGFISHER TO FLY AWAY FROM TELANGANA?

Do birds fly? Of course, they do. Unless it is a Kingfisher of the drinking kind. It is no joke for those who love a beer that their favourite may no longer be available in Telangana thanks to a row between UB, the brewery, and the Telangana Beverages Corporation Limited over past dues and pricing issues. It emerged that the past dues to the company were thanks to the previous BRS regime in Telangana, something that excise minister Jupally Krishna Rao made clear at the presser the other day. Following him, director of excise and prohibition department C. Hari Kiran dived a little deeper explaining that the department had paid `1,131 crore in dues after the Congress government came to power. Explanations apart, the question flying around is whether the little bird will once again land on the tables once the current stocks run out.

POLITICOS STEER CLEAR OF NEW FLUOROSIS OUTBREAK

Politicians and bad news for the public never go hand in hand. Such is the case in Nalgonda with news that new cases of fluorosis are surfacing in Marriguda mandal in the district. During the 2022 byelection to the Munugode Assembly seat, leaders from the BRS, Congress, and the BJP tried hard to claim credit for “no new fluorosis cases”. While Congress leaders said they ensured Krishna river water to mandal to wipe fluorosis out, the BJP sought to stake its claim saying `275 crore sanctioned by the then A.B. Vajpayee government and used for constructing drinking water tanks helped the people overcome the debilitating effects of fluorosis. The BRS, of course, said the clean-up was thanks to its Mission Bhagiratha scheme. But now with new fluorosis cases popping up in Marriguda mandal, suddenly all three have fallen silent on the issue leaving people wondering what’s up with all the leaders who made tall claims in the not so recent past.

MODI LEAVES SPEAKER SPEECHLESS

A Speaker was left, well, sort of speechless thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s quick reply the other day. Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu who was among those who lined up to greet Modi on arrival in Vizag, introduced himself saying he was the Assembly Speaker, and Modi immediately responded by greeting him saying ‘Adhyaksha’ as is the case when MLAs address the Speaker in the House. Ayyanna Patrudu couldn’t help himself from a quick burst of laughter even as others around were all smiles. After all, it is not every day that one gets greeted by Modi, and that too by getting called as ‘Adhyaksha’.

A TALE OF COPS AND COCKFIGHTS

Lines from movies that become popular usually acquire a life of their own. Another example of this, and one that is putting the cops in the Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh into some measure of discomfort is an adaptation of the line from the movie ‘Pushpa 2’ — “Dammunte Pattuko Shekhawat, Pattukunte Vadilesta Syndicate (catch me if you have the guts… I will quit the syndicate”. The line from the cocksure lead character in the film has now been repurposed in the Godavari districts where cockfights during Sankranti are all the rage. This banned activity goes on despite cops trying their “best” and so the line doing the rounds now is “Dammunte pattuko pandem kodi, pattukunte vadileste kodi pandem (catch me if you have the guts... i will leave the cockfights”. Over to the cops.

CHARAN BETTER RIDER CONFESSES PAWAN

There is never a dull moment when AP’s Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan is around. There is no horsing around with this man. If not politics and his work in the government, Pawan can quickly grab attention with a story or two from his acting career. Like he did the other day at an event related to his nephew and actor Ram Charan’s new movie. Referring to how Ram Charan can effortlessly ride a horse, Pawan confessed that when he had to do a scene from his movie ‘Gabbar Singh’ and had to ride a horse, he had to turn into a horse whisperer promising the animal some carrots and sugar cubes if it let him ride safely and finish the shot. “Though I managed to do the scene, I really knew nothing about riding a horse,” Pawan, who now has turned into a people’s whisperer, confessed amidst loud cheers from the crowd.