THE THREE MUSKETEERS…
With social service in his genes
Hyderabad: The Chennur MLA, Dr Gaddam Vivek Venkatswamy, is a former Advisor to the State government and served as an MP in the Unified AP from Peddapalli constituency (2009-2014). He played a significant role in the Telangana statehood movement, using his position as an MP to advocate for the bifurcation of AP.
An MBBS doctor from Osmania Medical College, he is the youngest son of the veteran politician late G Venkatswamy, popularly known as Kaka. He represents the Mala community and is the father of Vamshi Krishna, the current Peddapalli MP. He served on the Coal and Steel Committees. Under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, he played a pivotal role in Congress' success in Peddapalli and other Telangana constituencies after rejoining the party in 2023 from BJP. As part of social and educational contributions, his Visaka Charitable Trust oversees the distribution of over Rs 100 cr for social welfare initiatives, including building water borewells, schools, and promoting women's entrepreneurship in underdeveloped areas of Telangana and focused on community empowerment, health, hygiene, and infrastructure development. Venkatswamy owns V6 News Channel, which was founded during the Telangana statehood movement to amplify the region's voice. The channel provides live coverage of protests, dharnas, and key events, fostering awareness and unity. Later, he also founded Velugu News Daily in 2018, which became a popular newspaper in Telangana.
A first-time MLA becomes Minister
Hyderabad: The Legislator representing Makthal constituency is a first-time MLA and represents the fishermen community, the BC (D).
A graduate, Vakiti Srihari served as DCC (District Congress Committee) president of Narayanpet District prior to getting Congress ticket during the recent Assembly polls. Earlier, he had worked as Makthal Congress Mandal secretary. A former Makthal gram panchayat Sarpanch, he won with the highest majority in Mahabubnagar district in 2001 and served till 2006. A Congress leader for almost three decades, he also served as Mahabubnagar's district congress party vice president from 2001 to 2006.
The rise of a student leader
Hyderabad: A student leader who represented the NSUI from his Junior College days, Adluri Laxman Kumar, the Dharmapuri MLA, is from the Madiga community. The MLA had defeated Koppula Eshwar in 2023 Assembly polls.
The legislator is serving as Government Whip and his elevation came as surprise for the several in the party. Starting his political career in early 1980s as NSUI leader in Godavarikhani, he rose within the ranks as a student leader. Later, he was elected as General Secretary of District Youth Congress Committee of erstwhile Karimnagar district and rose to become general secretary at State level. The former ZPTC of Dharmaram mandal, after losing in the Assembly polls on several occasions, won in the 2023 polls with a majority of 22,000 votes against Koppula Eshwar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
33 minutes ago
- The Hindu
India has transformed under Modi's leadership: Ashok
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok has highlighted the 'transformative achievements' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 11-year tenure, while flayed the record of 10 years of the Congress-led UPA rule under Manmohan Singh. Addressing reporters in Mysuru on Thursday, Mr. Ashok claimed that India has reached new heights under the Modi government, and its GDP growth and infrastructure development have seen a three-fold jump compared to the progress achieved under the UPA regime. Highlighting India's rise on the global stage, Mr. Ashok said, 'We were once struggling for the 10th or 11th spot in the world economy. Today, we are the fourth largest, surpassing Japan and the U.K.', he said, adding that the country was once a bystander on the world stage but is now taken seriously. Citing economists and global institutions to back these claims, he said there was a period when India led a 'hand-to-mouth existence' and had to import food for sustenance. Now India was not only self-sufficient and exported food, but was also a major global supplier of medicines, Mr. Ashok said. India's resilience came to the fore during Covid-19 pandemic when the country became a lead vaccine exporter, he said. On national security, Mr. Ashok accused the Congress of inaction and alleged that there were 'over 9,000 terror incidents' during the UPA rule. Under the Modi government, the numbers had dropped drastically, and there was also a counter-response which was not the case under the UPA rule led by Dr. Singh, he said. Listing infrastructure gains, he said the number of medical colleges has more than doubled from 337 to 704, while the number of All India Institute of Medical Sciences has tripled from seven to 21. The number of airports has increased from 74 to 149, while the national highway length has increased from 90,000 km to 1.5 lakh km, he added. Mr. Ashok said the Modi government built 11 crore toilets and constructed four crore houses while 27 crore people have been lifted out of extreme poverty as stated by the World Bank report. On agricultural subsidies, he said it was ₹30,000 crore in 10 years of UPA regime under Dr. Singh while it is ₹1.27 lakh crore under the NDA-rule led by Mr. Modi. On Kashmir, Mr. Ashok said the abrogation of Article 370 has led to visible development and increased income from tourism, and while the BJP has vowed to stomp out Naxal violence, the Congress was apathetic towards it, he added. Addressing criticism from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who recently gave Mr. Modi a '0 out of 100' score, Mr. Ashok retorted, 'Mr. Siddaramaiah himself doesn't deserve even 0 – he scores negative. He is an outgoing Chief Minister, and the people have no expectations from him,' said Mr. Ashok, adding that not a single memorable irrigation project has been taken up by Mr. Siddaramaiah. MLA T.S. Srivatsa, former MP Pratap Simha and others were present.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
It's justice, not politics: DK Shivakumar backs new caste census in Karnataka
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday defended the government's decision to conduct a fresh caste census, asserting that the move is driven by social justice and not political to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, Shivakumar lashed out at opposition parties for their 'contradictory' stance on the issue. 'The reason why we are redoing the caste census is social justice, not politics. The opposition parties, who criticised the previous caste census, are now opposing the new caste census. Let them support the original one if they have a problem with the new one,' he challenged JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, BJP state president BY Vijayendra, and senior BJP leader R Ashoka to clarify their stand publicly. 'Let them call for a press conference and say they support the earlier caste census. They are making many comments, we will respond in the Assembly. The media should highlight these contradictions,' he added. The comments come after the Karnataka Cabinet decided to go ahead with a fresh Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, often referred to as the caste decision was based on the recommendations of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, which had submitted its final report earlier this year. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that the existing report was outdated, being over a decade whether opposition from dominant communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas influenced the state's decision to redo the survey, Shivakumar declined to comment. 'This survey will include all communities. Even Kannadigas living outside the state will be able to submit their details online,' he the role of the Congress high command, DK Shivakumar said, 'They have only given us guidelines. The state government has taken this decision after considering the views of the people and our MLAs.''The report was submitted on February 29 and has been discussed 5-6 times in Cabinet. The opposition too had demanded a re-survey,' he added. IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Scheme sanction limit of mukhiyas up
Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday made several key announcements for representatives of the three-tier panchayati raj system, including a 1.5-fold increase in their monthly allowances. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He also declared that mukhiyas of gram panchayats would now be able to approve administrative works up to Rs 10 lakh under MGNREGA, up from the previous limit of Rs 5 lakh. The announcements were made during a meeting with gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zila parishad representatives at the CM Secretariat here. Nitish also said that the construction of panchayat sarkar bhawans would be completed in all panchayats before the upcoming assembly elections. According to an official statement, the CM made six major decisions. These included an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to be given in case of normal deaths of panchayat representatives during their tenure. Earlier, this amount was only provided in cases of accidental deaths. In addition, panchayat representatives suffering from illness will be eligible for health assistance through the Chief Minister's Medical Assistance Fund. The CM also asked district officials to process applications for arms licences submitted by panchayat representatives within the stipulated time frame, in accordance with rules. "We have set a target to complete the panchayat sarkar bhawans in all gram panchayats before the elections," the CM said. "For this, the state govt has also approved the remaining 1,069 new panchayat sarkar bhawans. Orders are being issued to transfer the construction responsibility to the respective gram panchayats. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now If land is not available in the headquarters village, it can be acquired from a nearby village. I hope you will select the land soon and begin the work so that construction is completed ahead of schedule," the statement added. To enhance the utilisation of funds from the 15th Finance Commission and State Finance Commission, departmental schemes of up to Rs 15 lakh can now be implemented directly. Addressing the PRI representatives, Nitish said, "It is a matter of great happiness that this meeting has been organised. I was informed about your demands by the chief secretary and departmental officials. The panchayati raj department is taking action on most of them in line with the rules. Many of your demands have been fulfilled today." The CM also recalled the introduction of 50% reservation for women in the panchayati raj system in 2006 and in municipal bodies in 2007. "A large number of women are now leading society as elected representatives. We have worked for the development of all sections. We continue to engage with the representatives," he said.
