Functional posts instead of representational posts in LSP National team is welcome

When you observe the posts created so far in the LSP National Team, you will notice that they are functional posts instead of representational posts. This is a welcome step. Usually, political parties start their teams with representational posts based on religion and caste such as BC/SC/ST/Minority committees/posts. I hope that the national team of LSP continues to avoid these kind of posts.

For reference, below are the functional posts created by LSP National team:

• National Vice President
• Political Secretary to National President
• National General Secretary
• National Treasurer
• National Disciplinary Committee
• National Strategy,Program Development & Monitoring Committee
• National Legal Committee
• National Organisational Development Committee
• National Communication Committee
• National NRI Committee
• National Spokespersons

New team -- National office bearers of Lok Satta Party

National President of Lok Satta Party, Surendra Srivastava has announced a new National team of office bearers.

I wish them good luck in their endeavor to improve the state of politics in India. They face enormous amounts of challenge, and I hope they will perform successfully to achieve tangible results.

I was part of the first National Steering Committee and National Council of Lok Satta. The experience was enriching as I was at the helm of the affairs when we positioned ourselves nationally, and as we fought the General Elections 2014 and undivided Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections 2014. As an outgoing member of the National team, I wish them good luck.

1. Dr. Ashwin Mahesh - National Vice President - Bengaluru
2. Ms. Tara Krishnaswamy - Political Secretary to National President - Bengaluru
3. Ms. Hyma Potineni - National General Secretary - Hyderabad
4. Mr. Suresh Nandawat - National Treasurer - Mumbai
5. Dr. Pattabhi Ramaiah - Chairperson - National Disciplinary Committee - Guntur
6. Ms.Tara Krishnaswamy - Chairperson - National Strategy,Program Development & Monitoring Committee - Bengaluru
7. Ms.Elizabeth Seshadri - Chairperson - National Legal Committee - Chennai
8. Ms. Vasantha Gullapalli - Chairperson - National Organisational Development Committee - Hyderabad
9. Mr. Srinivas Alavilli - Chairperson - National Communication Committee - Bengaluru
10. Mr. Kalyan Raman - Chairperson - National NRI Committee
11. Mr. Katari Srinivas Rao - National Spokes Person - Hyderabad
12. Mr. Jagadheeswaran D - National Spokes Person - Chennai
13. Mr. Rajeev Pai - National Spokes Person - Mumbai
14. Mr. Manthuri Mogulaiah - National Office Secretary - Hyderabad
15. Ms. Shraddha Ipte - Private Secretary to National President. - Mumbai

Chilling conversation between Pakistani terrorists during Peshawar attack

As Pakistani Taliban gunmen strode through the corridors and classrooms of the Army Public School on Tuesday, spraying teachers and pupils with bullets, one paused from his grisly work to make a phone call.

“We have killed all of the children in the auditorium,” the militant, later identified as Abuzer, told his handler. “What do we do now?”

“Wait for the army to arrive,” came the reply. “Kill them, then blow yourself up.”

Source: The Indian Express. Journalist: Ismail Khan.

CCTV footage of elephant voluntarily cleaning up the trash

What a great video. An elephant voluntarily places trash into a dustbin, even when there is no one around. When this elephant can behave in such a responsible manner, why cannot we?

Lots to learn from this CCTV footage. Video duration: 1 minute.

youtube.com/watch?v=NswSP0Hrh9Q

Without our Sardar, Hyderabad would have been a messed-up place now

Razakars were evil people. They raped Telangana women. Nizam of Hyderabad was an evil person. He allowed his henchmen, the razakars, to rape Telangana woman -- lakhs of them. Many Telangana women used to wear knickers under their sarees so that when a razakar pounced on her to rape her, she can quickly take off the saree, and make an attempt to run away.

They humiliated Telangana people on daily basis and treated them as dogs. They never considered Telangana people as their own people but rather as slaves.

Razakars, led by the Nizam of Hyderabad, never considered themselves as Indians. They hated to be part of India. They forgot that Telangana has always been an integral part of India since time immemorial.

Razakars were demons. They are gone now! Happy birthday, our dear Sardar. You made it happen.

Long live Sardar.

Nobel Prize to Kailash Satyarthi is a big boost to Indian NGO sector

Yes, this year's Nobel Prize will help to raise awareness on child rights globally. However, the biggest gainer will be the Indian NGO sector, which I think is the largest for any country in the world.

India's relationship with its NGO sector has been a mixed one. Due to lack of good governance, the NGO sector increased in size in India. Reportedly, we currently have about 20 lakh NGOs in India! That is 1 NGO for every 600 people! Still, the performance of the NGO sector has been below-average to average. Lack of accountability, lack of goal-based activities, blatant non-performance are common in many NGOs. However, there have been many super-stars, most of them working well away from the limelight.

In this context, Nobel Prize to Kailash Satyarthi is a big boost to the Indian NGO sector. Big boost to the silent performers who have been toiling every day. A mocking message to the constant attention-seekers who actually do very little social service.

Already, some jealous people have started questioning the source of funds for the work of Kailash Satyarthi. Who cares! As long as you are raising funds legally, no one should have any misgiving.

Good luck for more good work from Kailash and similar people of his ilk.

Support Captain Abhimanyu for Haryana Chief Minister

I support Captain Abhimanyu to become the next Chief Minister of Haryana. He is capable, hard working, well-educated and progressive. Given his skills and knowledge, he could have spent his time to become stronger economically at a personal level. But for many years, he has been spending a significant amount of his time in public service. Currently, he serves as the National Spokesperson of BJP.

He is soft-spoken yet decisive. He knows what is right for the country and is determined to play his part to develop Haryana and the rest of the country. He has a strong presence and has immense leadership qualities. He believes in giving the right opportunities to the right talent.

He is successful professionally too. He is also pursuing a three-year executive management program at the Harvard Business School.

I wish him good luck for his Haryana Assembly elections campaign.

'Make in India' should not be a 'Get rich quick, clean up later' model

Heartening to note that there is an emphasis on 'Make in India' initiative. Few hundred million unskilled/semi-skilled Indians need jobs to escape poverty and unleash their constructive energy. Manufacturing sector catering to high-volume, labor-intensive, low-margin industries is best suited to deliver on this need.

However, India should not follow the 'Get rick quick, clean up later' model. This model was pulled off with great amount of success by China, helping it to emerge as a nation to reckon with. Hats off to China for the achievement. However, the model is inherently flawed because it results in an ecologically devastating landscape, resulting in low quality of life for the very people who are assumed to have become more 'prosperous'.

India should learn from the mistakes committed by China. It should embrace clean processes even though they can be expensive momentarily. This means a lesser rate of growth, lesser number of jobs. But in a long run, the average Indian will be better off by embracing sensitivity towards the ecology.

Attempting to moderate oneself when one is on a path to high growth, is a good problem to have! Let's hope that we set sail in that direction first!

Why I do not subscribe to a newspaper

For the last eight years, I have not subscribed to a newspaper. Many reasons:

1) I get deep satisfaction that I am not contributing to more dead wood, especially when the need for a newspaper is not high as I get my news from other sources.

2) As mentioned, I get my news from other sources - online news portals, blogs and very relevant articles shared widely by influencers on Twitter, etc.

3) Except for publications such as WSJ, Economist, Economic Times, etc., that package the information relevant to me in an efficient manner for me to browse through, all other publications are inefficient for me to browse through the pages. I need to 'search' for useful news and this in fact wastes my time and reduces my consumption experience.

4) I also do not subscribe to an online newspaper because I read specific articles and not random news. I prefer paying per article (any entrepreneur listening?!)

I have many friends who consume news in the same manner as I do. Yet, most of them subscribe to a newspaper, because it is an old habit. I request them, and all those with similar habits as mine, to stop buying a paper newspaper. For the sake of environment.

Of course, if you enjoy consuming news from a physical newspaper, please go ahead. Even for me, I enjoy reading a physical book over an ebook. So I buy a paperback.

Demand for referendum in Kashmir quoting the example of Scotland is foolish

There is an enthusiastic section in Kashmir and elsewhere who are demanding that there should be a referendum for independence in Kashmir now, pointing to the referendum for independence of Scotland. Such a demand is foolish.

In very simple terms, Scotland was a different nation historically before it became part of United Kingdom. So, there is some merit to their demand to hold a referendum for freedom. But Kashmir was never a separate nation. It has always been part of Bharat since time immemorial. So, the demand for a referendum does not arise.

Kashmir belongs to every Indian living elsewhere just as much as it belongs to those living in that area. So, if at all a referendum needs to be held, then all the Indians, including myself, should be able to vote!

To all those ungrateful flood victims in Kashmir

Dear cousins,

Firstly, my heartfelt condolences for the misery you are suffering due to the flood situation in Kashmir. We all, which includes the Indian army, have been and will continue to pitch in with all our strength to make sure that you are comfortable.

That said, I am personally dismayed by your ungrateful nature. You have the disgusting behavior of throwing stones at the army personnel who are risking their lives to comfort you. I think that the core reason for your dismay is that you consider yourself a different people. But please note that the land on which you are living belongs to all of us, including me.

May be you are weak in history. The capital city name 'Srinagar' itself suggests its link with Hindustan! The land on which you are living, every single hill, every single river is part of the rich Indian history. Just because of the growth of a particular religion in Kashmir, due to invasions few centuries ago, does not mean that it is not part of Hindustan.

The land on which you are living belongs to me as much as it belongs to you. If you hate me, no problem! You sit silent or get the hell out of the place to a country that might welcome you. But do not do the disgusting act of throwing stones at army personnel who are trying their best to help you.

Have some decency!

RIP Bapu garu

You are a legend. You leave behind a legacy. You have redefined and added immense value to Indian art.

Just as we think of NTR's face when we think of Lord Rama or Krishna, your illustrations (bommalu) come to our mind when we think of traditional, respectful and creative art depicting human beauty.

Your illustrations now personify and represent how Telugus would prefer to depict their traditional style of artful expression.

Very few people are capable of defining a culture. You are one among them.

I hope that in coming decades, your style will be identified and embraced by lot more cultures of India.

Rest in peace.

Wish you all a very happy Ganesha Chaturthi

Today is the day we celebrate the Destroyer of obstacles. He is extremely intelligent, learned and has a sense of humor. He is powerful and makes things happen! He has his stories, hobbies, preferences. He is popular.

Not so long ago, He became a reason for people to come together, step out of their homes, mingle, so that they develop a camaraderie necessary to fight against the foreign rule during the Indian freedom struggle.

So, today, let us all do good. And celebrate. Happy Ganesha Chaturthi.

Dialogue of the day: On capability versus skill-sets of a person

Tony Kueh: That's like telling Elon Musk that he can't build cars, solar panels, and send people to the moon because he's more of a "financial payments" guy. This is ignorance.

Bombing ISIS forces to prevent genocide is a welcome step by the U.S.

I am happy that the U.S. has decided to bomb ISIS advancement forces in order to prevent the genocide of people belonging to various other religions. Let us be very clear on one thing -- there should NOT be any genocide in this world. Our societies should never allow such a dastardly act. So, the act of U.S. is a welcome step.

Ideally, this should have been executed by the United Nations forces. But we all know that the governance at the global level is broken. So, it is heart-warming that the U.S. has taken the initiative to come forward to ensure a genocide or the highest order of the violation of human rights is prevented.

I hope that India grows in strength so that Indian security forces too can join in future in such initiatives to prevent genocides across the world.

Mangalagiri should not be the location for new capital of Andhra Pradesh State

Mangalagiri is a valuable forest. Plan for the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh right there pains the environmentalist in me. There are many alternate vast lands instead of Mangalagiri -- with no forest cover, with no irrigated fields. Destroying a forest to build a new city, when so many alternate cheap lands are available, is a crime against humanity.

The best location for the new Andhra Pradesh state capital is near the border of Andhra & Rayalaeema. The new city can be shared even if any future bifurcation takes place.

Two friends -- Two recent book releases

Two of my good friends have recently released their books. Do check them out!

1) James Carmichael released the first of the five part sci-fantasy book Erra's Throne. I went to Chicago Booth with him and he is a very talented writer.

Link to the book: www.amazon.com/Erras-Throne-Column-Tablet-Book-ebook/dp/B00LCSRS6I

2) Vishwas Mudagal released his debut novel Losing my Religion that is based in an Indian setting. I explored an entrepreneurial venture with Vishwas in 2004 and have known him since then.

Link to the book: www.amazon.in/Losing-My-Religion-Vishwas-Mudagal/dp/8172344937

Sad news -- Lok Satta leader Vijayender Reddy dies in road accident

It is really shocking to know that Vijayender Reddy, who has devoted more than 18 years of the most productive phase of his life for public service, is no more. He died in a car accident. He is 48 and was emerging as a key Telangana state leader.

Though I personally worked with Vijayender Reddy on very few activities, I had a strong rapport with him. He liked me a lot for various reasons and considered himself my guide. He used to feel very happy whenever I was around and that was very much visible often.

He was one of the first members of the Lok Satta movement and he held on to his beliefs against incredible challenges. He was the "Telangana Mass Maharaja" of Lok Satta. He used to inspire hundreds of people among low-income groups to come to various public events. Over the years, his enthusiasm had tempered down a bit due to public apathy towards involving themselves in good governance. However, for the last few months, he was extremely happy with the creation of Telangana state and he was busy making plans to reach out to Telanganites in rural places on a massive scale.

Our relationship strengthened when he called me one day to give unsolicited advice. There were certain organizational challenges that I was facing/handling and with a genuine concern for me, he made the phone call. His wise advice was very helpful to me at that time.

Thereafter, he continued to treat me like his trusted friend. Very recently, he had called me one month ago for certain reasons and I was supposed to get back to him. Before I could, he has passed away.

His life is an example of the troubles many honest people face when they enter public life to do good to the society. He did not devote time to improve the quality of his life but used most of his time and energy for the people. Yet, public were indifferent to his efforts. His efforts will not go in waste because it has strengthened immensely a movement to bring in better governance.

He leaves behind his wife, a son and a daughter. He came from a very modest financial background, leaves behind very modest financial sources for his family, but does manage to create a powerful story of public service. A story of 18 years of sweat and sacrifice.

I congratulate the people of Telangana for the new State of Telangana

Today, the new State of Telangana becomes a reality. The credit for this mainly goes to the people of Telangana who supported the movement for the creation of the new state.

The state of Telangana has three advantages now:
1) In this age of urbanization and globalization, Hyderabad is the biggest asset of Telangana and her people should ensure that Hyderabad city reaches greater heights

2) Telangana is a budget-surplus state and this should be used for creation of growth infrastructure across the state, so that the revenues generated can only become bigger in coming years

3) The flourish of regional identity, culture, language, history and arts to propel the new state towards a wholesome society that is happy with its destiny.

Telangana should become a bright jewel in the crown of Indian federal structure.

I thank Raghuveer Mukkamalla for his service to the nation

Today, Raghuveer Mukkamalla, the Vice President - Finance of PFL, has announced his resignation. It was always a pleasure to work with him. I have been working with him since 2010 when I was the Vice President - Finance of PFL. Later on, in 2012, he stepped in to my shoes in PFL. In addition to this responsibility, he has devoted few thousand hours of his time and also significant monetary contribution for the sake of bringing about better politics in India. He mainly worked for improving the lives of the people in Kukatpally constituency in Hyderabad city, though he lives in the Washington D.C. area in the U.S.

I look forward to working with him again sometime.

You can reach out to him at raghuveerm @ gmail.com to convey your thanks.

Second place in postal ballot results in Malkajgiri Assembly

We at 'Dilip for Malkajgiri' campaign get second place in postal ballot in Malkajgiri Assembly. Results declared yesterday.

Total postal ballot votes received: 520
Total valid votes: 467
1) TRS: 161
2) LSP: 144 -> yours truly
3) BJP/TDP: 73
4) Congress: 43
5) YSRCP: 24
6) AAP: 7

To an extent, this again shows the strong support for us in Malkajgiri Assembly among educated employees. TRS getting the highest votes should be due to the sentiment factor even among educated employees.

Thank you for your support -- Malkajgiri Assembly elections 2014

Volunteers, supporters and well-wishers,

Thank you for your support in various forms since May 2012 for the campaign -- donating, volunteering and spreading the good word.

The results for United Andhra Pradesh State Assembly elections are declared and mainly due to the highly-polarized voting pattern among the electorate due to the highly emotional Telangana issue, I could not secure a victory.

Those who supported the cause of Telangana voted for TRS and those who did not support the cause, voted for TDP/BJP combine. Mine and our party's voice was lost out in these emotional developments.

Till the election day, I was one among the four candidates who were perceived by the public to be in the race for victory. But on the polling day, we observed two trends -- highly polarized polling due to the regional divide and low voting percentage of only 52% (a low voter turnout meant that upper/mid-middle class voters, who usually support us, did not turn up to vote).

I secured 12,121 votes out of 2,31,108 votes polled. The polarization resulted in TRS winning by securing 77,132 votes while the BJP/TDP got 74,364 votes for the second position.

That said, I must share the good news that a large section of people indeed perceived me as "someone who can do a good job that will be better than other contestants". They believed my track-record, "respected" and "liked" me as a person. Even our message during our campaign was in sync to what people perceived about me.

The fact that I delivered the second-best result in United Andhra Pradesh for our party (both in number of votes secured -12121, and vote share percentage secured - 5.24% ) gives credence to this. (best performance is from our State President who contested from Kukatpally constituency that we had won in 2009 -- 13004 votes and 5.6% vote share).

I will continue to spend some of my time in public initiatives and I will work towards implementing part of my public initiatives in Malkajgiri constituency.

I seek your continued support.

My special thanks to our fundraisers for the campaign

I must specifically thank my fundraisers who used their networking and communication skills to raise funds for our campaign. Some of them spent sizable number of hours to contact others and ask for funds. They believed in the campaign and used their personal goodwill and social capital to set the conversations going.

Within Malkajgiri constituency: I want to thank Sivaramudu Ediga garu for contacting many residents and raising funds. I must mention he has been the only fundraiser from within the constituency. He is a role model for all other Lok Satta Malkajgiri members in this aspect.

From outside the constituency: I would like to thank Kalyan Raman, Venkat Didugu, Sravanthi Yalamanchili, Venkat Pendurthi and Raghuram Tadimalla for being the fundraisers.

Apart from this, a large number of donors asked some of their friends to donate for the campaign.

I am thankful to all of you.

Pen gifted to me at the Harvard University, Boston, in 2013

I was just sifting through memorabilia at home and came across the pen gifted to me when I went to the Harvard to speak about my work for the people. The shield of the Harvard can be seen too.

At a 'Headlines Today' discussion program hosted by Rahul Kanwal about 10 days ago

Expansion of the scope of donations to our activities

I have been seeking donations for three main activities that I was supervising in two categories.

Category 1: Political initiatives
Activity (a): My political campaign

Category 2: Social initiatives
Activity (a): Social activities such as road-side drinking water kiosks during summer, school bags to girl child, food distribution in orphanages and old-age homes, lighting facilities to tribals and nomads, etc.
Activity (b): 'Voter India' initiative involving door-to-door voter enrollment, voter deletion check-up centers, etc.

In coming months, I would like to expand the scope of the donations to include a third category -- "Environmental initiatives."

Why?

1. Environment is very important to all of us, wherever we live
2. I am interested in spending some time in activities related to environment and I have a track record
3. I would like to include those who resonate with "environmental initiatives" in our "family of donors"

Watch out for more! Yes, please feel free to donate at www.dilipsankarreddy.com/donate

My accomplishments over the last 2 years

Irrespective of the nature of the result in the election, I would like to mention what I consider my accomplishments over the last 2 years:

• Doing my bit by standing as an example to demonstrate that politics is for everyone. To make a statement that it is for teachers, consultants, scientists, architects, engineers. It is for people of every single occupation.
• Clearing lots of doubts in hundreds of people about the nature of our engagement with politics. I have answered thousands of questions, engaged with many people over almost every day and I must say, inspire many to spend, at least few hours in our political processes.
• Provided perspectives and actively involved/led activities related to governance, voter registration, civic responsibility.
• Persuaded few hundred people to realize the importance of donating to a political campaign and actually donating.
• Communicated over Facebook, articles, conference appearances, television, emails, about various ideas, happenings, processes of our political and civic engagement.

I might have made many mistakes, I might have been wrong many times, I could have done a lot of things better than how I did them. I learned along the way. I learned by being with you all people.

Only 52% voter turnout in Malkajgiri Assembly constituency

I am sad for the last two days because the voter turnout in Malkajgiri Assembly constituency, the political campaign in which managed to grab the attention of the entire state, could achieve a voter turnout of only 52%.

The turnout has actually reduced from 54.6% in 2009.

This is the same story across most of the constituencies across Hyderabad.

We led the Voter India initiaitive in Malkajgiri to enroll thousands of new voters and inspire people to turn up to vote. Yet, we have a low voter turnout.

I am blaming the people for this. They, as a group, do not have any excuse for failing to vote. The sad state of governance in India is due to non-participation of people in the electoral process.

I am an optimist. So do join me in the Voter India initiative at www.dilipsankarreddy.com/donate

Most of the donations to me are from people I have not yet met

Let me tell you an interesting fact -- Most of the donations to me are from people I have not yet met!

Another fact -- Most of the donations to me in recent times are from people I do not know personally or professionally!

I will put out more detailed statistics soon.

May be this pleasant phenomenon is because people far and wide like what I do with their money and trust me for putting their money for the intended task.

It has been two years since I started asking funds for my activities in public sphere. A good number of people have responded and I have immense gratitude to my "family of donors". In coming years, I am thinking of certain initiatives to take this forward and engaging with my "family of donors" in a more constructive and fulfilling manner.

Yes, you too are welcome to join this family: www.dilipsankarreddy.com/donate

I look forward to your support. Thanks.

Kudos to Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry for taking a public stance

What ails our celebrities -- moviestars, entrepreneurs, sportspersons, writers, etc., -- is they do not come out in public to endorse good candidates. Most of the time, they want to be in the good books of everyone and not take any political stance.

Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry came out and took a public stance to endorse Lok Satta and me. He spent considerable amount of time for the last few weeks in this effort. I thank him for that.

If you support Narendra Modi, then vote for JP

Hello Residents of Malkajgiri MP constituency! BJP has not fielded any candidate from Malkajgiri MP. This is due to the alliance between BJP and TDP. At the same time, JP has said many times that he supports Narendra Modi as the next PM of India.

So, if you are a supporter of Narendra Modi, you have a choice to vote for either TDP (because of its alliance with BJP) or JP of Lok Satta Party. Better you vote for Jayaprakash Narayan (official) of LSP because JP is a far better candidate than the candidate from TDP.

Coverage in TV9 on my fundraising event in New Jersey

I thank TV9 for covering my fund raiser event in New Jersey, U.S. People For Lok Satta New Jersey chapter took the initiative in organizing the event. Key members of PFL from Boston chapter also came especially for the event. I thank them and the media for the support.

Coverage in TV6 for my Bay Area fundraiser organized by PFL

I thank TV6 for covering my fund raiser event in the Bay Area. People For Lok Satta Bay Area chapter took the initiative in organizing the event. I thank them and the media for the support.

Panel discussion in TV5

TV5 invited me to a panel discussion on current affairs in Andhra Pradesh. I thank Prakash Kapila garu for ensuring the smooth functioning of the eventualities.

 

Why Andhra Pradesh/Telangana Assembly elections should happen along with Parliamentary Elections 2014

There has been a lot of speculation over last the few weeks that the Assembly elections in the state of Andhra Pradesh might get postponed and it will not be taking place along with the General Elections 2014. The Assembly elections in the state were due along with the Parliamentary elections in April-May as the term of the Assembly comes to an end at the same time. Thankfully, the Election Commission has recently clarified that the Assembly elections would be taking place along with Parliamentary elections but we still need to wait for an official notification.

Assembly elections should not be postponed for two main reasons:
1) It would deprive the citizens of the State of an elected Government for more than few months
2) Additional cost to the exchequer for conducting another election
3) Avoidable inconvenience to the people

However, what is shocking is the manner in which everyone went about this issue. Several political party representatives from different regions started lobbying for postponement as it was in their self-interest. No party came forward openly to support the conducting of the elections (irrespective of when Telangana state might be created) on time.

I hope the Election Commission will continue to strictly go by the rules and expected norms.

Priorities for Telugus now: Build a new thriving city near to the coast and strive to make Hyderabad as second capital of India

Now that Telangana issue is resolved to an extent, it is now time to look towards the future.

1) We need to build a thriving new city near to the coast in residual Andhra Pradesh that houses the new State Government offices and also new commercial, educational and research establishments. In South India, this new city should be able to rival the existing clusters of Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad metropolitan areas. The size of the local economy will surely support the emergence of such a city. This needs great leadership and entrepreneurial instinct among the local people i.e. the people of residual state of Andhra Pradesh.

2) Hyderabad metropolitan area is ideally suited in terms of geography to house the second capital of India. What it means is some of the central government departments working from New Delhi can be shifted to Hyderabad. This will ensure that a part of the Central Government administrative offices will also work from Hyderabad. This will ensure that people of South India, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh will find easy proximity to those governance departments instead of traveling all the way to New Delhi. After few decades, we can have a third capital in Kolkata, based on the same logic. This idea should be debated further before we put this into action. Visionary leadership is needed to go further on this idea.

Kejriwal should not have resigned from the CM post of Delhi

I always supported Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party team to form the Government in Delhi with Congress support and I felt very happy when he eventually decided to accept external support to form the Government.

Life is a lot about compromising on our expectations, wishes and urges. We should not compromise on our stated ethics. But we should prepared to be flexible with what we want to do and achieve, both in professional, public and personal lives. After all, things do not turn out the exactly the way we expect them to.

In this outset, moving forward with getting things done, as much as feasible, is the most sensible approach. AAP had a historic victory in Delhi in the Assembly elections and it was a matter of joy to all well-intentioned Indians hoping for a shake-up of the current mess in the political setup. It was a hard fought battle and every one we're looking forward towards better governance. But AAP has frittered away the chance to make good the bad ways in Delhi.

A lot can be achieved with the existing rules and laws. He had a full five years. I agree that AAP considers Jan Lokpal Bill as very important. But, AAP should have chosen to again fight that battle another day. But at present, AAP should have focused to deliver good anti-corrupt governance in Delhi, within its constraints. Kejriwal should not have put in his papers.

I wish him good luck in his fight to shake up the current mess in politics. But his party could have done a lot more than that with him as the CM of Delhi.

Why Lok Satta Party should not merge with Aam Aadmi Party as of now

There has been a series of discussions between Lok Satta Party and Aam Aadmi Party for the past few months regarding the terms of working together. Today, Jayaprakash Narayan and some of our party leaders went to New Delhi to again speak with Arvind Kejriwal and his party leaders about this. I can say that the talks have been inconclusive so far and engagement will continue further. There are two options for LSP and AAP if they have to work together: 1) Creatively draw out a plan of engagement that can even be a pre-poll alliance or strategically not fighting against each other or help each other in other ways 2) Merge LSP and AAP

As of now, AAP is publicly stating that they favor merger. LSP is not in favor of merger as of now.

Why I am against Lok Satta Party merging with Aam Aadmi Party as of now:
1) There are early days for AAP and the rate of tripping over (losing trust of people by committing grave execution mistakes unintentionally, etc.) is still high. It is always good to have more than one party on "clean politics platform" so that if one party loses the trust of the people, the other party can carry forward the agenda of clean politics. Please note that safeguarding the "clean politics platform" is very important.

2) AAP has not formulated policies for many issues, as it is still very young. LSP has developed many solid policies over the years. So, many know what LSP stands for but no one knows what AAP stands for on many issues. Let AAP take a stand on various issues in coming months so that LSP can engage with AAP on those issues.

3) There are many economic, national security and national identity issues where LSP and AAP do not agree with. For example, LSP supports FDI in retail while AAP opposes it. LSP wants to see how this position of AAP on such issues will evolve. However, these issues are not deal-breakers though important.

LSP and AAP have lot of things to learn from each other. Let us work together without hurting each other. Let us together strengthen the "clean politics platform". We can consider the issue of merger at a later date, definitely not before 2014 General Elections.