Maoist To Telangana Minister, Seethakka's Unique Journey

A fascinating member of Telangana cabinet is Maoist-turned-MLA Danasari Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka, whom Chief Minister Revanth Reddy calls his "sister". As someone who took up arms and renounced it, Seethakka's mission is to arm youngsters with access to education, so they can rewrite their future.

Her journey from armed revolution to a minister with a law degree -- in October last year she earned a PhD -- has stirred the imagination of the masses. So much so that when the new Congress government was taking oath at Hyderabad's LB Stadium on Thursday, the loudest cheers were reserved for her.

The 52-year-old tribal MLA from Mulugu has been entrusted with three crucial ministries -- panchayat raj, rural development and women & child welfare.

Born to labourer parents, Seethakka had joined the Maoist movement when she was barely 14 -- long before she finished school. Over the years, she rose to become Seethakka, a commandant in the extremist group, went to jail, and then gave it all up in 1997.

When in the movement, she gave birth to a son whom she and her husband had to give up. Those underground are not allowed to raise children. Her mother later traced the child and brought him up herself.

Later Seethakka gave up the Left extremist movement and parted ways with her husband over "ideological differences".

"I studied law... argued in same court where I stood as accused once," Seethakka told NDTV. She earned her Ph.D from Osmania University in October last year and recently sat for her LLM exam.

The big move -- progression to politics -- took place in 2004.  She joined the Telugu Desam Party where she met Revanth Reddy. The two share a close bond. Mr Reddy calls her his sister.

Seethakka has been elected MLA three times from Mulugu, first in 2009 on a Telugu Desam ticket and again in 2018 and 2023 under a Congress ticket from the same constituency.

Her work in the state's tribal areas during crises like flooding and the Covid pandemic, walking several kilometres through hilly and remote areas, has earned her respect and admiration of the people.

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"A Lot Still Left To Come Out": AB de Villiers On Warner-Johnson Row

The David Warner vs Mitchell Johnson saga caught the entire cricketing world off guard. Seeing Johnson oppose David Warner's selection in the Australian Test team for the Pakistan series, as well as his 'hero's sendoff', many Aussie cricketers have tried to neutralise the controversy. Even South Africa great AB de Villiers reacted to the controversy, asking the Australia duo to sort the feud themselves and not let the spat get dragged on in public. De Villiers also feels that this isn't the end of the saga yet.

"I just don't like this public conversation between the two of them. Just pick up the phone and sort it out. Ask the guy let's go out for a cold drink and sort the issues out. I feel there are some scars from the dressing room but don't let the world get in on this," De Villiers said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"They have played a lot of cricket together and have shared the dressing room a lot. So maybe that's where it started. Maybe Mitchell Johnson felt that 'You're a part of a World Cup winning squad and now this send-off. You're getting away with a lot that needs to be talked about.' I feel there's a lot still left to come out," he added.

In his column, Johnson said that Warner 'doesn't warrant' a hero's sendoff because of his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. He also questioned the Cricket Australia selection committee for the opening batter's selection despite his poor form in red-ball cricket over the last 2-3 years.

While admitting that Warner can be a fearsome character to deal with the field, De Villiers said that off it, he is absolutely gentle.

"I have played many cricket games with this guy (Warner) and on the field he can be brutal, but off the field, he is a gentle giant. He is a nice guy. Something switches on the field just like Dale Steyn. I have played with Davey at Delhi Daredevils and maybe there is a bit of short fuse sometimes. Maybe his and Mitch's short fuse collided."

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Video: Wall Falls On Procession In UP; 6 Women, Child Dead

Six women and a child who were in a procession were killed when a wall collapsed on them in Uttar Pradesh's Mau district. At least 21 others were injured.

The incident was captured on camera.

In the visuals, a group of women is seen walking behind some men who are beating drums. Reports said they were going to a haldi ceremony.

As they walked down the narrow street surrounded by small houses, a wall suddenly fell on those who were at the rear of the procession. A cloud of dust quickly enveloped the street.

More details are awaited.

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"Results Unexpected, Disappointing": Congress Reviews Poll Defeats

The Congress leadership on Friday held separate meetings to review its performances in the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and said its defeat in the two states at the hands of the BJP was unexpected. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had convened the review meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi where former party chief Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were also present.

"Today, a meeting to review the election results of Chhattisgarh was held at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. Senior Congress leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun kharge and Rahul Gandhi were present in this meeting," the party said, sharing pictures of the review meeting on the election results of Chhattisgarh.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said the state Congress chiefs have been instructed to submit a booth-wise report on the party's performance. "We will strengthen our connect with the people and unitedly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to unseat the BJP government." AICC general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh Kumari Selja said they are dejected but not demoralised and would together contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and win. She said the party has not lost its vote share and added it would carry out a detailed analysis on the poll results in the state.

"Today a review meeting related to the election results of Chhattisgarh was held, where everyone expressed their views. We lost the Chhattisgarh elections, but our vote percentage has not reduced. We have gained the trust of the public," she said.

"We are disappointed, but not in despair. In the coming times, we will fight the Lok Sabha elections together," she said.

Ms Selja said the final results were unexpected, belying all the surveys, opinion polls and expectations, but the party has retained the confidence and faith of people in the state.

She said the party's vote share was same as it was in 2018 and it is no mean achievement to retain the vote share for five years. This, she observed, meant that people had liked the policies of the government.

The Congress general secretary maintained that while the results were disappointing, the morale of the party's rank and file was high.

Ms Selja expressed confidence that the party will perform better in the parliamentary elections as people still have faith and trust in the Congress party as was evident in the voting pattern. She also pointed out that the election was not a one-sided affair as in several constituencies the party candidates lost by slim margins.

She said party leaders and workers will continue to reach out to the people in connection with the preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Randeep Surjewala later told reporters that the reasons for the party's defeat in Madhya Pradesh were also discussed in a cordial atmosphere.

"We openly discussed the reasons for the party's defeat and leaders analysed the shortcomings of the party within the forum," he said.

"The Congress president heard us patiently. All the leaders authorised him to take a decision on how to strengthen the organisation. We urged him to hold a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Madhya Pradesh and appoint an observer for its next meeting to enable it to elect the new leader of opposition," Surjewala said.

He thanked the voters of Madhya Pradesh and said the party would continue to act as guardians of people's rights in Madhya Pradesh and will continue to serve them and protect their rights.

Asked whether the issue of EVMs was also raised, he said, "All issues were raised at the meeting but it is not appropriate to raise them in public." "The results are disappointing and are not as per our expectations," he noted.

Among the party leaders who attended the Chhattisgarh review meet were AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, Congress screening committee head and observer Ajay Maken, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, his former deputy CM T S Singh Deo and former ministers Tamradhwaj Sahu and PCC president Deepak Baij and other senior leaders.

In the Madhya Pradesh review meeting, AICC general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala, PCC president Kamal Nath, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and AICC screening committee head Jitendra Singh were present among other leaders from the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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When Gambhir Is "Asked About Kohli...": Sreesanth's Explosive Claim

Two Indian cricket team World Cup winners, Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth, had an ugly spat on the cricket field on Wednesday during a match at the Legends League Cricket (LLC), a tournament for retired stars.  The video of the altercation has gone viral. Gautam Gambhir was playing for India Capitals while Sreesanth was playing for Gujarat Giants. Gambhir scored 51 off 30 balls as India Capitals won the match by 12 runs. During the match, Sreesanth stared at Gautam Gambhir after getting hit for boundaries. The former Indian cricket team opener stared back. In a separate video, Gautam Gambhir and Sreesanth could be seen coming face to face angrily. 

After the match ended, Sreesanth made some sensational claims regarding . Sreesanth went to the extent of saying that when Gautam Gambhir is asked about Virat Kohli, he 'never speaks about him'.  

"What's the point of representing people if you don't respect your own colleagues? Even in live broadcasting when he is asked about Virat, he never speaks about him, he speaks about something else. I don't want to go further in detail. Just want to say I am very hurt and my family is hurt and my dear ones are hurt. And the way he said things…. Just want to I haven't used a single bad word or a single abuse, nothing. He just kept on saying words which he always does," Sreesanth added.

However, Gautam Gambhir has often praised Virat Kohli on air. During the IPL 2023, Gambhir told Star Sports: "I have never understood why the finisher's tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7. An opener can also be a finisher. A No. 11 can also be a finisher. This has just been created by the media."

"There was probably no finisher 10 years ago. There can't be a better finisher than Virat Kohli because of the number of games he has won. So don't call only the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 as finishers. Whoever scores the last run is a finisher."

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A post shared by SREE SANTH (@sreesanthnair36)

After the incident-filled Legends League cricket match, where Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir were involved in heated argument, Sreesanth outpoured his feelings in a video on his Instagram account.  

"Just wanted to clear the air with what happened with Mr fighter, who always fights with all his colleagues for no reason whatsoever. He does not even respect his own senior players, including Viru Bhai. That's exactly what happened today. Without any provocation, he just kept on calling me something which was very rude which shouldn't have been said by Mr Gautam Gambhir," Sreesanth said in the video.

"I am not at all at fault here. I just wanted to clear the air straight away. What Mr Gauti has done, sooner or later all of you will get to know. The words which he used and the things he said on a cricket field, live, is not acceptable. My family, my state, everybody has gone through so much. I fought that battle with all your support. Now people want to down me for no reason. Even when my team is doing well, he said things he shouldn't have said. I will surely let you know what he said.”

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Ethics Panel To Submit Report On Mahua Moitra In Parliament Today

The parliamentary ethics committee will present its report on the cash-for-query allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the Lok Sabha today.

The committee will suggest parliament to expel Ms Moitra from parliament.

The Opposition is expected to ask for a division of votes on the report. The BJP has, however, prepared for this and issued a whip to its MPs to remain in the house.

Six members of the ethics committee had voted in favour of the report. Four members belonging to the Opposition gave dissent notes. The Opposition has called the report a "fixed match". 

Ms Moitra and Opposition MPs had walked out of the ethics committee meeting on November 2 after questioning the way the meeting was conducted. The committee, however, had shot back saying she did not cooperate and left in order to avoid answering more questions.

The Trinamool Congress MP has called Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who filed the complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), her "jilted ex". Following the complaint, Mr Dubey had led the call to investigate the allegation that Ms Moitra gave her parliament login ID to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Though Ms Moitra has refuted the cash-for-query allegations, she admitted to giving her parliamentary login ID to businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

In an affidavit, Mr Hiranandani alleged the Trinamool MP shared her MP email so that he could send her information and she could raise questions in parliament. He alleged she later gave him her parliament login and password for him to post the questions directly.

The ethics committee had reached out to the Information Technology Ministry and the Home Ministry to check alleged misuse of the parliament login ID and password by Ms Moitra.

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"Mother Sold Me For Rs 4 Lakh To Haryana Man": UP Woman To Cops

An 18-year-old woman has accused her mother of selling her into a marriage with a man from Haryana for Rs 4 lakh, police on Thursday said.

The woman from Mahesra alleged that the man she was "married" to assaulted her and forced her into illicit activities, they said.

"The woman approached us on Wednesday and claimed she is a resident of Mahesra area under Chiluatal Police Station area and was sold to a man from Haryana and was married to him," Superintendent of Police (North) Manoj Awasthi said.

He said the woman in her complaint alleged that her mother took Rs 4 lakh from the Haryana man and married her off to him in a marriage function held at her house on November 23.

"The allegations are being looked into. Two elder sisters of the woman are also married in Haryana. Her mother and other family members have dismissed the allegations. However, we are looking into all aspects of it," said Chiluatal Police Station SHO Sanjay Mishra.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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