Monday 25 April 2011

Baba Death Couldn't Stop Money Tsunami In Kadapa!


The demise of godman Satya Sai Baba and flooding of thousands of devotees and VIPs to Prashanti Nilayam at Puttaparthi to pay their last respects to the departed soul dominated the media in the last two days.
As result, the developments on the political front, especially with regard to the electoral battle in Kadapa district, have been relegated to inside pages.
However, on Tuesday, the politics is back on the front pages, at least to some extent. The major political developments at the national level was the chargesheet filed by CBI against DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi and others in connection with the 2G spectrum scandal and the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi in connection with the Commonwealth Games scandal.
Back home, Eenadu carried in detail the Andhra Pradesk High Court seeking to know why a preliminary CBI inquiry cannot be ordered into the cases of illegal properties allegedly amassed by YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and the Emaar Properties scandal.
The hearing was deferred to June, providing much needed relief to Jagan before the Kadapa by-elections.
Another important development is the High Court division bench’s decision staying the single judge’s order to the Centre to disclose the ‘secret’ eighth chapter of the Srikrishna Committee, which allegedly made suggestion to the state on how to crush the Telangana movement. The High Court asked the Centre to submit the eighth chapter of the report to the court in sealed cover.
Andhra Jyothy highlighted the “money tsunami” in Kadapa, where by-elections are being fought. The report says three major parties together are spending more than Rs 170 crore, providing a windfall to the local level leaders. It described the Kadapa by-elections as unprecedented in terms of money flow.
Coming back to the developments in Puttaparthi, the media highlighted the rumours doing rounds in “Prashanthi Nilayam”, about how Baba’s close aide and caregiver Satyajit has emerged as the front-runner to take over the reins of the huge spiritual empire. The elevation of Satyajit, a 33 year old Management graduate chosen by Baba to take care of his personal needs, appears certain and a key decision to this effect is likely to be taken by Sri Satya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT) which will meet soon after the final rites on Wednesday.
The members of the Trust, including the high-profile secretary K Chakravarthi and former Chief Justice of Supreme Court P N Bhagawathi, are said to be in favour of elevating Satyajit and entrusting key responsibilities to him, according to a banner story in “Andhra Bhoomi”.
The state government is treading cautiously on the issue of succession as it does not want to appear to be interfering with the independent functioning of the Trust. In view of the high-profile nature of the personalities involved in the management of the Trust, the government is moving cautiously on the issue. Meanwhile, certain key members of the Trust held discussions with the Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Minister N Kirankumar Reddy at Puttaparthi and assured them that all the good work initiated by Baba would be continued without any dilution and with the same level of commitment.
In view of the reports of bitter internal tussle for control over the Trust and the likely pressure from Baba’s relatives for a greater role in the management, the government has decided to provide security to the Trust members, a report in “Eenadu” said.
It said that Satyajit, who used to take care of Baba all the time, chosen not to be in the public glare after the demise of the spiritual guru. He only made a brief appearance at Sai Kulwant Hall where the body of Baba lies in state. It is believed that the government would wait for about six months before stepping in directly in running the affairs of the Trust. In the meantime, it wants to closely observe the activities of the Trust.

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