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Telangana issue in the spotlight
Parties latch on to statehood issue and the beedi label
controversy in their bid to woo voters
HYDERABAD: Few electoral contests in recent years in Andhra
Pradesh have attracted as much attention as the byelection to the
Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat.
In contrast to another Lok Sabha bypoll in Bobbili, political and
media glare is on Karimnagar as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is
projecting it as a referendum on separate Telangana.
There are no takers among political parties for this formulation
because the result of a single byelection, they say, cannot reflect
the mood of the entire region. But, they fear the result could
significantly strengthen the TRS and its demand. Congress and BJP
are, therefore, leaving no stone unturned to appropriate the
Telangana plank.
BJP's intent
The BJP has already announced its intent to introduce a private
member's Bill in the current Lok Sabha session and it would be
interesting to see how the other parties handle the fallout of
opposing it. The Congress has made it clear that it will not support
it.
Congress and TDP are also trying to sidestep the issue of separatism
in their campaign. The former is promising development and the
latter accusing the Congress and TRS of betraying people of the
region. Congress' commitment to development of this region is
blunted by the TRS' efforts to raise the `Telangana sentiment', a
euphemism for support for a separate State.
The TRS ' argument goes that the yearning for development, ignored
by successive Governments, has yielded place to separatism. TRS
President K. Chandrasekhar Rao is confident of retaining this seat
on the basis of this sentiment though he does not have the cadre to
man polling booths on December 4.
Weavers' vote
The TDP is banking on the anti-incumbency factor, weavers' suicides
and votes of Backward Classes. To garner support of the BCs, it has
fielded a member of the weavers' community and ex-MP L. Ramana,
while the Congress has nominated MLA T. Jeevan Reddy.
With a week to go for the campaign to end, the controversy over the
notification for mandatory printing on beedi packets of a health
warning refuses to go away. The NDA Government had enacted a law in
2003 making it mandatory to print a pictorial warning on cigarette
packets and tobacco products.
The follow-up notification for printing the warning from February 1,
2007 was issued by the UPA Government this July. Beedi manufacturers
and workers protested. Far from welcoming a law many of them had
endorsed earlier, political parties sensed an opportunity. Leaders
of Congress, TRS, the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP are blaming
each other for enacting the law and quoting Parliamentary
proceedings to buttress their claims.
The beedi issue has only complicated matters for Congress in a
byelection that it precipitated by challenging Mr. Rao to prove his
mettle. The ruling party is now doing everything to see that the
`Telangana sentiment' does not translate into votes. The beedi
controversy has partly deflected attention from the sentiment.
One-stop shop for retailers in city
Metro Cash & Carry wholesale outlet spread in an area of
1,00,000 square feet
HYDERABAD: After Reliance entered the consumer market in a big
way, it's Metro Cash & Carry for the benefit of small and medium
businessmen.
The self-service wholesale Cash & Carry launched its first
distribution centre in Andhra Pradesh at Moosapet in Hyderabad on
Wednesday. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara
Reddy.
Spread in an area of 1,00,000 square feet, the one-stop shop will be
a solution to all the business needs of retailers, traders,
hoteliers, caterers etc. It houses over 18,000 products ranging from
stationery, electronic goods, gift items to vegetables, fruits,
dairy products fish, meat, clothes and much more.
Speaking to reporters, Harsh Bahadur, managing director of Metro
Cash & Carry India said: "We hope to open five to six distribution
centres in the State, taking the concept to Vijayawada and
Vizag too
in the near future." The company eyes 35 cities in India as
potential markets. It plans to open 50 such centres across India.
Metro Cash & Carry already has two centres in Bangalore.
More outlets
Apart from Moosapet, it plans to open one more centre either in
Uppal or Shamshabad. Mr. Bahadur saidthat apart from bringing the
two ends of the supply chain together; products will be one to three
per cent cheaper than local wholesale markets.
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