Jagan continues to hunt Babu&Co.

ABK Prasad

Jagan camp has been carpet-bombing courts against Chandrababu and co with courts as the battlefield. The latest weaponry in its ammo are two petitions separately in Supreme Court and High Court, both aimed at driving Naidu-Ramoji duo against the legal wall.
Y S Vijaya filed a petition in the apex court on Monday with an extraordinary plea to shift the case against the TDP chief to a court in any other state or to the Supreme Court. We have strong reservations about the fairness of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in dealing with this case, the petition argued.
The other petition is also a surprise development. ABK Prasad, a senior journalist, moved in the HC an ‘implead’ petition in Naidu’s ‘vacate’ petition hearing, arguing that he had intimate knowledge of illegal business practices adopted by Ramoji Rao. ABK, who was chairman of Official Language Commission during YSR regime, impleaded along with Vijaya Sai Reddy, Jagan’s auditor and accused in Jagan’s case.
Vijaya alleged in her petition to SC that Chandrababu and others in the case have been trying to create obstacles for a fair trail in the High Court and have been making efforts through ‘not before’ convention to influence the selection of the bench. It may be recalled that Sakhshi and Vijaya’s lawyers objected to a bench consisting of Justice Eswaraih hearing the case earlier.
Presently, the case is being heard by the bench consisting Justice Rohini and Justice Ashutosh Mohanta. Vijaya lawyer Sushil Kumar, in his arguments, has been saying that Justice Rohini had earlier issued orders that were favourable to Chandrababu in some cases.
It would be interesting to see how the apex court will react to this unprecedented move in the history of AP High Court. Vijaya’s petition clearly conveys that the AP High Court is far from competent in delivering justice.
ABK’s case is very curious. The maverick journalist worked very briefly – 1974-1975- in Eenadu. That was a long time ago and too brief a period to know about the businesses of Ramoji Rao in such detail as he claims to have knowledge of. His being drawn into the case is being seen as an attempt to bolster the credentials of Vijaya’s petition.
However, what prompted him to be Jagan’s partner in this case against Ramoji is inexplicable. Jagan has had the credit of drawing Ramoji’s son Suman and the media baron’s co-brother Appa Rao at different stages in the past in his battle against Eenadu.

Believe it or not..This is Ch. Ramoji Rao

A rare picture of Ramoji with wife

Ramoji Rao is a publicity-shy person. Until recently, he would always frown at any pictures of him or his family being published in his paper. Hence it can be considered a rarity that a commemorative edition was published on the occasion of Ramoji Rao’s diamond jubilee – completion of 75 years – anniversary.
The well produced book is unique in that the articles are written not by big names but by those who benefited in various ways from the different businesses – Eenadu, Margadarsi, Annadata, Usha Kiron etc – that Ramoji runs. The souvenir comes at a time when Ramoji is once against caught in the vortex of CBI inquiries.

For All ETV Suman Fans

Suman is unstoppable

Suman is back with a vengeance. He has been making TV films left, right and centre of late. And acting in them with such relish. And showing them on ETV with such fanfare.
The man who is heir to a media empire has been making himself a laughing stock with his amateurish, anachronistic, run-of-the-mill gaudy flicks that seem completely out of place in today’s world.
The latest of his assaults is ‘Chuudu ,Chuudu Tamasha’ supposed to be a comedy-action-thriller telecast on Sunday’. It is unbelievable that a man of his family background and education could indulge in such garish, below par and crude endeavours in the name of creative expression.
Suman was actually playing a double ‘pose’ complete with 70s style mother-sister sentiment, with Robinhood elements liberally thrown in. His entire world view seems to be located in some remote past with which the current generation cannot relate to.
After falling out with his illustrious father Ramoji Rao, the younger son of media baron has been confined to pursuing his flights of fantasy through the medium of small screen in `strictly limited’ editions. Given that he was `divested’ of all other responsibilities, Suman has now the luxury of focusing all his energies on his `retro’ classics. His latest infliction ‘Sandadi’ is coming soon!

And he has been making full use of this facility extended by his father as a quid pro quo for not interfering with the day-to-day affairs of ETV. He gets all he wants – from the budget to all production requirements – to make his ‘horror’ films in the RFC. It’s probably a small price to pay for Ramoji Rao, who cannot afford to allow his prodigal son to run riot as part of management.
The message was relayed to one and all when Suman was not invited to the seventy fifth birthday celebrations of Eenadu patriarch, where interestingly Suman’s wife and children were the main draw.