Responding to Janasena Chief Pawan Kalyan's statement that he had not moved away from BJP and harboured respect for Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao said that Pawan was welcome to join BJP.

Welcoming Pawan to consider joining BJP, Rao said that any regional party which identifies with BJP's ideology can merge with them. 

"Pawan Kalyan has claimed that he never moved away from the BJP, that he stands with us. TDP leaders have made similar statements, that they respect the party’s central leadership, that they respect Amit Shah. The same TDP leaders have pelted stones and said negative things about the Prime Minister and Amit Shah. There seems to have been a change of heart now, they are saying pleasant things. If there has indeed been a transformation, regional parties are welcome to join us," said Rao.

Rao was also quick to point out that in fact, BJP had invited Janasena to form an alliance before the 2019 polls which Pawan had then refused. 

"His comments now seem like he is willing to work with us. But it shouldn’t be just for political gain. But it shouldn't be just for political reasons, to climb on our shoulders to dodge bullets. There are still four-and-a-half years left for elections in Andhra Pradesh. If they’re really willing to join us, I am even ready to take initiative. But if they’re only doing it for immediate political gains, it’s not like we will not understand that," he said. 

In the 2014 elections, JSP had supported the BJP-TDP alliance. However, by 2019, both the JSP and TDP had exited the NDA. In 2019, JSP contested the elections in an alliance with the BSP, CPI and CPI(M).

The BJP leader, however, was quick to condemn Pawan's recent statements on Hindu leaders inciting violence and claimed that the statement was made with a political intention.

"Pawan Kalyan has said that the reason for communal violence is Hindu leaders, that Hindus are reason for religious tolerance. There are political motives behind these statements. He must take them back and promise people that he will not make such mistakes in the future, alleged Rao.

Following a petition filed by several bar owners in Andhra Pradesh over the sudden cancellation of their licences, the state High Court on Tuesday directed the government to file a counter-affidavit.

The YSRCP government had announced recently that the new licences for bars would be issued from January 1 and eventually the government, as a part of its liquor prohibition policy would restrict the sale of liquor to only five-star hotels.  Liquor prohibition was one of the key promises of Jaganmohan Reddy during his campaign trail. 

The bar owners, however, say that the decision is not only unfair, but illegal as well as their licenses are valid to 2022. The owners have also stated that they have paid their license fees until 2020. 

"Many of us had renewed our licenses in 2017 for 5 years. These are valid up to June 30, 2022. We understand that the decision was taken as a part of the move towards prohibition, but many of us have already paid the yearly license fee up to June 30, 2020. We should at least be given time till then," said Andhra Pradesh State Wine Dealers’ Association President Subba Rao.

Meanwhile, the state government argued that it had discretionary powers to amend the existing policy.

After hearing both sides, the High Court directed the government to file a counter affidavit by December 10 and posted the case for further hearing, on December 18. 

The Jaganmohan Reddy government has already brought down the number of retail liquor shops in the state to 3,500 from 4,380. The existing shops have been taken over by the state-owned AP State Beverages Corporation Limited. 

The state government is planning to begin the construction work on the Machilipatnam Port Project in 2020 confirmed Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah on Monday. Addressing a gathering at a Science Fair and Exhibition, the minister said that the state government will develop the project 'at any cost'.

Giving out the details of the project construction, the Venkataramaiah said that the 'three or four banks are likely to grant loans to the extent of Rs 4,000 crores." A fresh Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of the Machilipatnam Port would be submitted to the government. Consultancy firm RITES has been entrusted with the task of preparing the DPR end of this month.

Former CM Chandrababu Naidu had laid the foundation stone for the deep seaport in February 2019. The project was estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore. 

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked RITES to submit the DPR for Machilipatnam Port in December 2019 itself as against the actual schedule of January 2020, the minister said.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up by the Andhra Pradesh police to probe into the stone-pelting incident that happened when TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu was touring the villages in the Amaravati region during his recent 'Chalo Amaravati' tour. 

During his bus tour to the villages around Amaravati on Thursday, stones were pelted on Naidu's bus. The TDP has alleged that some workers from YSRCP were involved in the attack. 

Police have stated that they have taken two people into custody for pelting stones and footwear at the bus. Denying any major damage to the bus, the police said that the windscreen of the bus was already cracked before the tour began. The two accused were booked at Thulluru police station and served notice under Section 41 of the CrPC.

Speaking to the media, Guntur Range Inspector General Vinit Brijlal said that an SIT would be formed which will be headed by an Additional SP rank officer to check for the security lapses and arrest if any more people are involved in the incident. He further added that 207 police personnel were deployed during the bus tour to provide additional security to Naidu.  

The incident occured on Thursday when the convoy of TDP was passing through the Seed Access Road near Rayapudi.  Naidu, who was visiting Amaravati to protest against YSRCP government's lacklusture attitude on Amaravati development was met with black flags and 'Naidu go back' slogans. 

A suspected private homam held at Tirumala by a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) trust board member has sparked off a massive controversy. Reportedly, board member Krishnamoorthy Vaithiyanathan organised a homam involving 60 priests from different parts of the country on Friday. 

According to the temple rules, no individual is allowed to conduct private homams. The trust board member, flouting the rules organised the private homam on the eve of the Shastiabdhapoorthi (a ceremony performed on the 60th birthday of a man) of his in-laws, sources said.

While the homam was on, all the devotees were restricted from entering the temple and only trust board members and family of Vaithiyanathan was allowed inside the premises of Kapileswara Swamy temple while the doors were locked for others.

It is still unclear who accorded permission. When DC approached the Kapileswara Swamy temple’s Deputy executive officer Subramanyam, he maintained that the Homam was permitted and that due procedure was followed. He also denied that the private Homam was restricted.

When this newspaper contacted Vaithiyanathan, he said the homam was performed for the well-being of humankind and the entire universe.

After concluding his Chalo Amaravati tour on Thursday, TDP President and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu stated that CM Jaganmohan Reddy is 'killing the capital'.

"The capital project was created with our intellect, my intellect. We increased the valuation, arranged for investments from Singapore etc. But this government is now killing Amaravati. But it is not a personal matter concerning just me. It concerns the future of 6 crore people of Andhra Pradesh and the future of our children," Naidu said.

Naidu's Chalo Amaravati was strongly opposed by YSRCP which claims that it was because of his indecisiveness that the works in the capital city didn't move at all and even after 5 years, it remains barren. The YSRCP also alleged that many irregularities were committed in the works and also accused Naidu of resorting to insider trading.

Refuting YSRCP's stand that only five per cent of works were done in the capital region in all these years, Naidu said that a considerable amount of work was done and in some cases, even 90 per cent of construction was completed with furniture and other amenities were already provided. 

During his tour to the capital region and nearby villages, Naidu visited different projects like the MLA and IAS officers’ quarters, the NGO quarters, judges’ quarters etc.

"The High Court and Secretariat are here. They have called this a graveyard. Are all these ministers and their CM doing their duties from a graveyard? Is the HC serving justice from a graveyard? Legislation is being made from a graveyard?" he asked.

"We had brought in investment from Singapore, a respectable country known for minimal corruption. But this start-up area project was cancelled because of this government," Naidu accused.

After Polavaram tenders, Anna canteens and various projects in Amaravati, the Jaganmohan Reddy government has decided to do away with another plan of his predecessor Chandrababu Naidu. 

The YSRCP government has now announced that the Kadapa Steel plant's foundation stone laying programme will be taking place on December 26th and that grand arrangements are being made for the same. I &PR Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Perni Nani after a Cabinet meeting made the announcement and also informed that the steel plant would now come up between Sunnapurallapally and Pedha Nandaluru villages in the Jammalamadugu Mandal.

"The foundation stone will be laid on December 26. The state would establish AP High-Grade Steel Corporation and acquire 3,295 acres of land for the steel plant. An agreement was earlier struck with National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for the supply of iron ore," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.

The interesting thing here is that earlier last year, the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu had already laid the foundation stone at Kambaladinne in Kadapa district which the YSRCP government is looking to shift and says that it has nothing to do with the previous location.

When a reporter brought this to Perni Nani's notice at Wednesday's press meet, he said that the YSRCP government had nothing to do with the previous announcement, and added that they had picked a place with "suitable rail and road connectivity", and did not wish to "fool people as the former Chief Minister did."

The setting up of the Kadapa steel plant was an assurance made to the state by the Centre in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu hit out at Andhra Pradesh's Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana for comparing capital Amaravati with a 'burial ground'. Naidu sought Satyanarayana's resignation for his 'unforgivable comment' and asked him to respect the sentiments of the local farmers. 

Stating that Satyanarayana through his comments has hurt the sentiments of 5 crore people of the state, the former Chief Minister said that along with the locals and people if Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP minister has insulted every single person who had participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony back in 2015.

"If you can't respect your Capital City, at least respect the sentiments of farmers who pooled their lands," tweeted Naidu.

"Respect the name which was derived from the glorious civilization of yore, respect the identity and hopes of 5 Crore Telugu people whom you represent," he said.

Satyanarayana, on Monday, while criticising Naidu for his works as the Chief Minister had likened Amaravati to a burial site by claiming that no works happened during the last five years in the region. 

Amaravati, which is the brainchild of Naidu has seen some major investors such as the World Bank and Singapore consortium withdrawing from the developments of crucial projects in recent months. Naidu has claimed that this has happened solely because of YSRCP government's indifferent attitude towards the welfare of the people including farmers who voluntarily pooled in 33,000 acres of land for the development.

Amidst uncertainty over Amaravati's future as Andhra Pradesh's capital and big-league investors pulling out of the region, leader of opposition Chandrababu Naidu has announced that he will tour the region and meet the locals. The purpose of Naidu's visit is to highlight the lack of development and stalled projects in the capital region since YSRCP came to power in May.

The TDP chief's decision comes weeks after Singapore Consortium had pulled out from various projects in Amaravati. Naidu has often in past criticised Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy of neglecting Amaravati and doing grave injustice to the farmers who pooled in around 33,000 acres of land in the region for the sake of the capital city development.

Days after Singapore Consortium walked out of Amaravati, a group of farmers moved to the high court seeking justice and return of the lands. 

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy at a review meeting on the capital city development directed the officials to speed up the works while at the same time being frugal. Jagan asked the officials to keep in mind the economic condition of the state and avoid unnecessary expenses. The government will also be developing plots for the farmers who had donated their lands to the government during the TDP regime.

The YSRCP government is also mulling over going for reverse tendering for projects which are not yet near completion to reduce expenses. In a similar move, Jagan had called for reverse tendering of the prestigious Polavaram Project and claimed that the move saved the state Rs 780 crores.

Earlier in the day, Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana had questioned the works done by Naidu during his term. Botsa further claimed that only five per cent works were done in Amaravati during the TDP regime. 

"The budget for the development of capital has been estimated to be Rs 1.9 lakh crore but only Rs 4,900 crore has been spent," said Satyanarayana and alleged that Naidu turned the capital city into a graveyard.

"Farmers should question Chandrababu on development when he visits Amaravati," the Minister said. He further assured the farmers that nothing will happen to their lands and that all the promises made under as per the government orders will be followed. 

The YSRCP government has also claimed that during the TDP regime, the capital regions saw massive levels of 'institutionalised corruption' and further added that a number of contracts were awarded to the TDP members and their relatives. 

To probe into the corruption and misallocation of funds, the Jaganmohan Reddy government had planned to probe each and every transaction, MoUs, tenders and contracts and even set up an expert panel to check the same. The government also stated that the future of capital will be decided after further deliberations and also sought suggestions from people. 

Botsa had earlier said after the receipt of the panel's report the government would decide whether to go ahead with Amaravati as the state capital or look for another location.

The Sri Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh will remain closed for nearly 13 hours on December 26, owing to the complete solar eclipse.

"As the solar eclipse commences at 8.08 am and concludes by 11.16 am, as a tradition, the temple doors will be closed on December 25 by 11 pm itself and will be opened at 12 pm on December 26," said an official statement from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthnam (TTD)

After the completion of rituals, the devotees can continue their darshan after 2 pm.

"The devotees are requested to make a note of these changes and plan their pilgrimage accordingly," the TTD said.

The Hindu temples world over have the practice of shutting down their doors during the eclipses and Tirumala, which is one of the richest temples in the world also follows the same to give way for purification rituals during the eclipse. 

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari offered prayers in the Padmavathi Devi temple at Tiruchanoor on Sunday, which is also overseen by the TTD.

TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy and Joint Executive Officer (JEO) P Basant Kumar received the senior judge.

Tirupati Urban Superintendent of Police Gajarao Bhupal and Temple Deputy Executive Officer Jhansi Rani were among those who were present.

A resolution seeking ban of  TDP MLC Nara Lokesh from attending the Guntur District Review Committee (DRC) was passed after the TDP leader was found guilty of insulting Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy. The resolution was moved by Managalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy who defeated Nara Lokesh in the assembly elections earlier this year. 

"It’s appalling that Nara Lokesh has referred to the Chief Minister as ‘psycho’ CM. Criticism must be based on a specific subject or point. He (Lokesh) has never attended meetings and has never done anything for the people, but insults the Chief Minister and even the Home Minister, who is a Dalit woman," said Reddy at the meeting. 

Lokesh had called Jagan a 'psycho' and termed his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy as a 'factionist' while speaking to the media a few days ago. He also claimed that the crime rate in the state had risen rapidly since the YSRCP came to power and that Jagan had turned Andhra Pradesh into a ‘suicide state’, referring to suicides by construction workers allegedly caused by YSRCP policies

The resolution to ban Lokesh from Guntur District Review Meetings was supported by other YSRCP MLAs as well. Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita, Marketing Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao and Housing Minister Cherukuvada Ranganatha Raju were also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, TDP has decided to contest the move with MLC AS Ramakrishna terming the decision to ban Lokesh as 'against the principles of natural justice'.

YSRCP General Secretary and MP Vijayasai Reddy has filed a complaint against Andhra Pradesh's leading media publications Andhrajyothi and Eenadu for publishing false stories against their government in AP. 

Reddy also requested the Ministry to cancel the Parliament entry passes to the journalists from the two media outlets. 

On Thursday, Reddy had complained to Union Minister of Parliament Affairs, Prahlad Joshi about the false reports being published by two houses. He also alleged that the two publications had also tried to spread misinformation on the proceedings of the all-party meeting held earlier this week. 

The YSRCP leader said that their reportage had maligned him and the sanctity of the Parliament.

He said that such reporting 'stinks of malice' and was done with 'wrongful intention', which would not only malign him but also the tradition of holding all-party meetings. Vijaya Sai alleged that the reporters who wrote the story had violated the basic ethics of journalism.

He urged the Union Minister to 'nip the wicked propaganda' before it went out of hand.

"Such intentional spread of misinformation to defame a sitting MP and Home Minister does not at all make them worthy to enter a building as pious as Parliament," he wrote.

Requesting the Privileges Committee to take up the matter to encourage accountability from the voters. Reddy also mentioned that he was planning to pursue a legal action against the publications for keeping the reputation of his part and Parliament intact.