
Andhra Pradesh CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu, family perform housewarming at new residence in Kuppam
The event was attended by TDP leaders and locals, celebrating Naidu finally establishing a permanent residence in the constituency after winning eight consecutive elections since 1989. This decision came after difficulties faced during his visits during the YSRCP regime.
TIRUPATI: Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's new residence's house warming ceremony was held at Sivapuram village in Santhipuram mandal at the Kuppam assembly constituency in Chittoor district on Sunday.
Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, his wife Bhuvaneswari, son and HRD minister Nara Lokesh and his wife Nara Brahmani took part in the house warming ceremony held at their new residence earlier today.
Naidu and his family performed a series of rituals and Homams under the supervision of a battery of Hindu priests and offered prayers to a sacred cow and calf of the Punganur breed as per their family customs and traditions.
TDP leaders and cadres from across the Kuppam assembly constituency gathered in large numbers at the CM's new and official residence at Sivapuram village and extended their best wishes to Naidu and his family members.
Nara Lokesh posted on his X handle 'Today we performed our house warming ceremony in the presence of the people of Kuppam, who have stood in strong support of our family for the last 36 years. We thank them for their invaluable love and affection which has remained unbridled at all times'.
Meanwhile, local TDP leaders and the people of Kuppam expressed their happiness over their longtime MLA and Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu finally entering into his permanent residence at Kuppam on Sunday.
While Naidu shifted base from his native Chandragiri to Kuppam and has won 8 elections on a trot since 1989, he never built an official residence for himself, providing the necessary ammunition for his critics to corner him on the issue.
During his frequent visits to the Kuppam assembly constituency, Naidu used to stay at the local R&B guesthouse at Kuppam, where he used to meet the local leaders and the people of the constituency.
However, when many hurdles were created during Naidu's visit and stay to the Kuppam assembly constituency during the YSRCP regime, Naidu decided to construct his own residence and took up construction of his official residence in approximately one acre of land along the Kuppam-Palamaner national highway near Kadapalle panchayat about three years ago and as the construction got completed recently, the house warming ceremony was held at the CM's new residence at Sivapuram village on Sunday.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Lokesh's ultimatum to YSRCP on 'Talliki Vandanam'
Vijayawada: Minister for Human Resources and IT Nara Lokesh on Friday gave an ultimatum to leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to prove their claim that he had arranged to collect Rs 2,000 illicitly from the Rs 15,000 being disbursed to mothers under the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme. Lokesh demanded that the YSRCP must take down their defamatory tweet within 24 hours, failing which legal action would be launched against the party. He accused the YSRCP of a pattern of repeating false allegations to establish its unfounded charge. In fact, Lokesh alleged, there were irregularities in the implementation of the 'Amma Vodi' scheme during the previous YSRCP government, including the furnishing of false accounts regarding student gross enrollment ratios. Addressing the media, the IT Minister highlighted that under the 'Talliki Vandanam', a key promise under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's 'Super Six' programme, the state government has successfully credited Rs 8,745 crore to the accounts of mothers of 67.27 lakh students. This amount is being credited to mothers of students from Class 1 to Intermediate first year. In cases where a mother is absent, the amount will be credited to the father or guardian, and for orphanages, the District Collector will assume responsibility. Lokesh emphasised the establishment of a robust redressal mechanism, allowing citizens to report grievances regarding non-receipt of funds through the Mana Mitra app or at village and ward secretariats. The minister provided a breakdown of the beneficiaries, stating that amounts for students from Class 4 to 10 were credited to 30 lakh BCs, 12 lakh SCs, 4.26 lakh STs, 66,000 minorities, and 8.5 lakh EBCs. He added that Rs 13,000 was credited to 18.55 lakh mothers with one child. For those with two children, Rs 26,000 was credited to 14.55 lakh mothers, covering 29.10 lakh students. Additionally, funds were credited for 6.3 lakh students with three children. Lokesh contrasted the foregoing figures with those of the previous YSRCP government's 'Amma Vodi' scheme, which benefited only 42 lakh students, whereas the current NDA government had extended 'Talliki Vandanam' to 67.27 lakh students. He noted that while the YSRCP government spent Rs 5,540 crore, the NDA government was spending Rs 8,745 crore on 'Talliki Vandanam,' an additional Rs 3,205 crore, projecting an extra expenditure of Rs 16,000 crore over five years. The minister further informed that he had reviewed the scheme's implementation with the Finance Minister and found that 2 percent of mothers' accounts were inactive, for which SMS notifications were being sent to prompt their activation. Regarding school preparations, Lokesh stated that student kits, including books and bags, were distributed to 80 per cent of students on the first day of school reopening. He assured that mid-day meals would be served with fine rice. As part of ongoing reforms, the state government was focusing on a 'one class, one teacher' norm, which had been implemented in 9,600 schools. Additionally, government schools were receiving free power supply. The minister concluded by stating that the teacher transfer process would be completed by Monday.


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Ram Madhav writes: What the current discourse on religious freedom gets wrong
In an interesting report, 'Changing the conversation about religious freedom: An integral human development approach', published in June last year, the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, claimed that it was seeking 'a new approach to religious freedom that integrates it with integral human development (IHD)'. In a welcome departure from the earlier practice of demonising countries in the name of religious freedom, the report argued that religious freedom should not only be treated as a human right but also as 'a crucial component of overall human flourishing and sustainable development'. Religious freedom became a bogey to defame countries after the US Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) in 1998 and created the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to 'monitor, analyse and report on violations of religious freedom worldwide'. The commission's annual reports have acquired notoriety for misrepresenting facts, often with an alleged political bias, in branding several countries as 'Countries of Particular Concern' (CPCs). Several countries have questioned its locus standi in interfering in their sovereign affairs. India took an aggressive stand by refusing to recognise the commission and denying visas to its officials. Earlier this year, the Ministry of External Affairs not only rejected the commission's 2025 report, which included India as one of the CPCs, but went further to brand the commission an 'entity of concern'. The USCIRF's reports have no sanctity outside the four walls of the US Congress. Yet, they have helped create a 'religious freedom industry'. A breed of 'religious freedom ambassadors' has emerged in over 30 countries. Religious freedom, per se, is not contentious. Several democracies, including India, hold it as sacrosanct. Articles 25 to 30 of the Indian Constitution offer various freedoms to religions including the freedom of conscience, the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate, and the freedom to manage their affairs without state intervention. Minority religions enjoy positive discrimination by way of special rights to run educational and cultural institutions. The same rights are not available to the majority Hindu religion. India is the only country where people of all religions, including several Christian denominations and Muslim sects, coexist in harmony. It's not that there are no religious tensions, but they must be seen in the context of India's population of a billion-plus Hindus, almost 200 million Muslims and 40 million Christians. In its long history, Hindu society has endured enormous religious persecution by invading Mughal armies as well as violent religious inquisitions by Christian rulers like the Portuguese in Goa. The country was partitioned in 1947 on religious grounds after a brutal and violent campaign led by the Muslim League. That history has made the leaders of modern India recognise the need for strengthening the bond of national unity based not only on political and constitutional foundations but also on cultural and civilisational ethos. Religious bigotry and fundamentalism — majority or minority — were rejected and emphasis was laid on creating a national mainstream. For a vast and diverse country with a long history of religious strife, that's not an easy task. Yet, occasional outbursts notwithstanding, India has achieved commendable success in demonstrating unity and harmony. Still, India remained in the USCIRF's crosshairs. There are two important reasons for that bias. One is that the commission places its religious freedom discourse in a Eurocentric framework. It refuses to take into account country-specific sensitivities. Two, it relies on scholars who are reportedly biased. I was at a conference in Rome recently where the Atlantic Council's initiative to view religious freedom from the prism of integral human development was the central theme. Propounded first by Jacques Maritain, a French Catholic philosopher, in 1936, and followed three decades later by Deendayal Upadhyaya, the ideological father figure of the BJP, Integral humanism emphasises the need to rise above religions to secure not only the material but ethical, moral and spiritual well-being of individuals. It advocates a pluralistic approach for achieving such an integral development. It is imperative that the religious freedom discourse be situated in the national context to achieve a proper understanding of the role of religions in the integral growth of people. The Indian Constitution imposes reasonable restrictions on public order, morality and health on all fundamental rights, including the freedom of religion. That calls for religions that came from outside to internalise the cultural experience of India, in which pluralism and respect for all religions is an important basic principle. No religion can claim universality or superiority. Hence, in the Indian context, the religious narrative should shift from 'one god' to 'only god' — everything is divine — and 'one truth' to 'only truth'. Religious conversions are an important challenge in this context. In a landmark judgment in Rev. Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), the Supreme Court held that the right to 'propagate' does not include the right to proselytise and hence there is no fundamental right to convert another person. The Court clarified that it does not impinge on the freedom of conscience guaranteed by the Constitution, but rather, protects it. It may be worthwhile to recall that Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis had criticised proselytism, albeit in the limited context of Catholics being won over by other denominations. A proper understanding of the cultural and civilisational experiences of various nations helps in reframing the religious freedom discourse in the right perspective. Otherwise, the Atlantic Council's efforts will also be seen as 'a form of 'cultural imperialism' or a 'Western' endeavour with a hidden agenda', to borrow from its own report. The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Celebrating those who resisted invasions is not chauvinism — it's reclaiming history
Also by Shambo Samrat Samajdar India's civilisational journey is one of unparalleled continuity — its roots run deep, nourished by thousands of years of spiritual inquiry, scientific advancement and cultural sophistication. Yet, the collective memory of Hindu empires that upheld this tradition seems to have faded from mainstream consciousness. For a country that takes justifiable pride in its freedom fighters, why do we not celebrate the heroes who defended this land centuries ago? Why are names like Ghori, Babur, or Aurangzeb more familiar to students than Lalitaditya Muktapida, Vikramaditya, or Krishnadevaraya? What became of the festivals that once commemorated Hindu sovereignty, cultural flourishing, and spiritual freedom? This erasure was not accidental. Between the eighth and 16th centuries, India witnessed relentless waves of invasions. Its glorious temples — from Mathura to Somnath, Kashi to Vijayanagara —became the first targets of destruction. Over 12,000 temples are known to have been desecrated or demolished. Libraries were burned, idols mutilated, and scriptures lost. The purpose was not merely conquest — it was to uproot India's sacred geography and replace it with a different historical narrative. Yet, India did not submit. For every invader, there rose a guardian of dharma. The resistance was not episodic — it was inspired by a sense of cultural and spiritual responsibility. The Vijayanagara Empire, for example, stood as a southern bastion against centuries of Islamic expansion. Under Harihara, Bukka, and later, the legendary Krishnadevaraya, the empire became a lighthouse of Hindu polity, temple architecture, Sanskrit learning, and inclusive governance. Its capital, Hampi, rivalled the world's greatest cities. Its fall in the battle of Talikota (1565) was not just a geopolitical event — it was a civilisational rupture. But even from the ashes, the fire did not die. It flared once again in the heart of Maharashtra with the arrival of a lion-hearted warrior — Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji was more than a military genius. He was a cultural visionary, a spiritual devotee, and a dharmic ruler. At a time when many Indian rulers had become vassals of invading powers, Shivaji declared swaraj — not just political independence, but a civilisational reclamation. He did not fight for territory alone. He fought for the right to worship freely, to rebuild temples, to protect women, to govern with justice, and to restore pride in the Hindu way of life. Shivaji's coronation in 1674 was an act of national renewal. Conducted by Vedic scholars with sacred rituals, it was a public declaration that the sanatan spirit of India still breathed. Shivaji's governance was marked by pluralism, meritocracy and spiritual grounding. He appointed Muslims to key positions and protected mosques while rebuilding destroyed temples, defending sacred spaces, and promoting Sanskrit. For him, the Hindu Rashtra was not a theological state, but a dharmic society based on ethics, justice, and cultural confidence. His message continues to echo: Freedom is sacred, and to defend it is the highest form of worship. If Shivaji was the sword of civilisational resistance, Swami Vivekananda was its thunderous voice in modern India. At the end of the 19th century, India was once again reeling — not under military invasion, but under psychological colonisation. Generations were taught to be ashamed of their roots, their gods, their texts, their identity. It was then that Swami Vivekananda stood at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago (1893) and roared: 'I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.' His mission was not just religious — it was political in the most profound sense. He reminded India of her true identity. He reminded us that behind every temple, every Upanishad, every raga and sculpture, there was a soul — a mighty civilisation that once led the world in knowledge, trade, ethics, and spiritual wisdom. To the youth, he said: 'Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.' To patriots, he said: 'Serve the motherland as God.' To all Indians, he declared: 'Let new India arise — from the grocer's shop, from the huts of fishermen, the cobbler and the sweeper.' Vivekananda did not ask India to mimic the West. He asked her to be herself — to draw strength from her Vedas, her courage from her warriors, her inspiration from her sages. Modern India has made extraordinary strides. But even as we fly missions to the Moon and craft digital economies, our roots must remain nourished. It is time to reclaim the festivals of our civilisational pride, not in hatred or chauvinism, but in truth, remembrance, and gratitude. We must remember the Hindu empires, the philosopher-kings, the warrior-monks, and the temple-builders who preserved the flame of Bharat through the darkest nights of history. This is not about rewriting history. It is about restoring balance, giving the rightful place to chapters long suppressed, and telling our children that before India was colonised, she was sovereign, scholarly, sacred, and strong. Let us walk forward — empowered not only by economic progress but by civilisational consciousness. Let Shivaji's sword and Vivekananda's voice guide us in tandem. Samajdar is clinical pharmacologist and diabetes and allergy-asthma therapeutics specialist in Kolkata. Joshi is a Mumbai-based endocrinologist