Parmesh Bheemreddy, who played a key role as the convener for the success of the Philadelphia convention of the American Telugu Association in 2014, has now become its president.The association, known by its acronym ATA, is a premier umbrella organization of people who speak Telugu in their adopted land of America.

The ATA board held its meeting at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, January 19, when Bheemreddy was sworn in as president of the organization.The meeting was attended, among others, by the board of trustees, past presidents, advisers, standing committee heads, regional coordinators and directors.Along with Bheemreddy, who is based in Delaware, a new board of trustees was also installed at the meeting attended by a total of 150 delegates from across the US. In their presence, President Karunakar Asireddy passed the baton to the new president.

ATA expanded its trustee board members to 31 from 27 following the toughest competition from among its members in the history of ATA, which came into being in the early 1990s. Eighteen of its trustees from three categories were elected unanimously.The following are the 18 members: Arvind Muppidi, Satish Reddy, Venu Piske, Ravi Patlola, Madhu Bommineni, Sainath Boyapalli, Ramesh Nallavolu, Srinivas Dargula, Vijay Konduru, Venu Sankineni, Srikanth Gudipati, Hari Lingala, Sunny Reddy, Sai Sudini, Ramakrishna Reddy Ala, Anil Boddireddy, Rajeshwar Tekmal and Meher Medavaram.

The new trustees will be in place for four calendar years beginning 2019. Bhuvanesh Reddy Boojala, from Virginia, was chosen unanimously as president-elect. He will serve as the president of ATA for 2021 and 2022.In his presidential address, Bheemreddy vowed to preserve and strengthen the Telugu heritage in the US.

He also promised to promote further literary, cultural, educational, social and economic as well as religious activities of the community mentioned in the ATA constitution.He unveiled the vision and action plan to be undertaken by the new committee under his leadership, which runs through 2019 and 2020, when a convention is scheduled.

Counseling the community on education, immigration, student jobs, free online SAT training, college education procedures, webinars on various topics, medical/dental camps for senior citizens and visitors, matrimonial services and emergency services are among the subjects to be focused.

The organization introduced an ATA Foundation Scholarship program for college students beginning this year.The ATA Foundation will pick 10 meritorious and economically backward students and present them with $1,000 each. Detailed information of the program is available on www.ataworld.org

ATA has also introduced a matrimonial service, which is an important feature as the community is growing significantly in the US.The ATA board elected the executive committee members for the next two years: Parmesh Bheemreddy (president); Bhuvanesh Reddy Boojala (president-elect); Venu Sankineni (secretary); Sharath Vemula (jt. Secretary); Ravi Patlola (treasurer) Aravind Muppidi (Jt. Treasurer)

The new president thanked Asireddy, the immediate past president, and his team. He congratulated them for their successful term during which the 2018 Dallas convention was conducted.

It was also pointed out that ATA spread its wings to Boston and Nashville.

Ever since the meeting with YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and TRS working president K T Rama Rao happened last week, TDP leaders in Andhra Pradesh are on cloud nine saying that AP people will not digest TRS-YSRCP friendship and this will ensure clear victory for TDP in upcoming Assembly polls.

AP TDP leaders are hoping that TRS-YSRCP friendship has flared up ‘Andhra sentiment’ in AP and people will vote for TDP enmasse in AP Assembly polls like people in Telangana voted for TRS one-side unable to digest TDP’s friendship with Congress in recent Telangana Assembly polls.

TDP leaders say like Telangana people rejected Congress for joining hands with “Andhra party TDP’ in TS Assembly polls, Andhra people will reject YSRCP for joining hands with “anti-Andhra” and “Telangana party” TRS’.

But the question arises is whether “Andhra sentiment” really exists like “Telangana sentiment”.The recent TS Assembly polls prove beyond doubt that “Andhra sentiment” is a myth and non-existent.If there was “Andhra sentiment” as being believed by TDP, why did TDP candidates lost elections in Kukatpally, Jubilee Hills, Uppal, Sanathnagar, Sherilingampally, Qutbullapur, where there is considerable Andhra population.

If there was “Andhra sentiment”, why did “Samaikhyandra agitation” in AP did not last even for a month, to prevent bifurcation of AP.If there was “Andhra sentiment” why did KCR, Harish or any other TRS leaders like Talasani Srinivas Yadav, are getting a rousing reception, whenever they are visiting Andhra and AP people setting up banners, hoardings welcoming TRS leaders.

Except for few student organisations for some days, there was no support from other sections in AP for Samaikhyandra agitation, which became untraceable soon after.This shows, Chandrababu is banking too much on ‘non existent Andhra sentiment’ to win AP Assembly polls under the pretext of Jagan meeting KTR.

In what can be termed a major setback, prominent Vijayawada leader Vangaveeti Radha Krishna has quit the YSRCP this afternoon. Radha has submitted his resignation letter to the YSRCP President YS Jagan.

Vangaveeti Radha has been upset with Jagan ever since the YSRCP President turned down his wish to contest from the Vijayawada Central constituency. Instead, Jagan told Radha to contest from the Vijayawada East constituency and this didn’t go down well with Radha.

Radha has been away from all YSRCP related activities for the last few days. In wake of the nonstop rumours about Radha quitting the party, senior YSRCP leader Botcha Satyanarayana met with Radha this morning and urged him to stay back in the party.

With Radha’s exit, Jagan and his party have received a major jolt, especially with the general elections which are due in this summer. There have been several rumours that Radha will join Pawan Kalyan’s Janasena. We will have to wait for a few more days to see Vangaveeti Radha’s next big step.

In yet another merciless act of hate crime, a Sikh man was brutally assaulted in the United States by a white man, who kicked, punched and pulled the beard of the Sikh for not giving him rolling papers for cigarettes.

Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Ramsey wanted rolling papers from a convenience store in Oregon and since he did not have the mandatory identity proof, Harwinder Singh Dodd refused to sell it to him. Following that, Ramsey pulled his beard and punched Dodd in the face.

Ramsey “racially targeted” Dodd on the basis of his religion, FOX 12 reported citing a court document. When Ramsey was asked to leave the store, he pulled Dodd to the ground and kicked him, Justin Brecht, a legislative policy adviser in the Oregon State Capitol, was quoted as saying by the report, according to news agency PTI.

“Dodd was bleeding as he was mercilessly punched in the face…and kicked very brutally. It was very serious,” Brecht said.

The police have pressed charges of hate crime, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and assault in the fourth degree on Ramsey, adding that the 24-year-old tried to steal Dodd’s turban and hurled a shoe at him.

According to a report, there has been a 45 per cent rise in hate crimes against Indians, especially Sikhs, and other South Asian Americans in 2018 as compared to the previous yea