Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy passes away
Amaravati: Veteran Telugu stage and film actor Jayaprakash Reddy died of heart attack at his residence in Guntur on Tuesday. He was 74 and survived by wife and a son, family sources said. He collapsed inside the bathroom on Tuesday morning and breathed his last.
Jayaprakash Reddy, popularly known as JP, began his career as a school teacher. His passion for acting drove him towards the stage and he played varied roles in countless dramas. He then attracted the attention of Telugu film industry and a variety of roles came his way.
Be it a hardcore villain or a comedian, JP fit into the roles with effortless ease and enthralled the audience. As a villain, he earned a unique identity speaking the Rayalaseema accent of Telugu, a novelty that became his USP and elevated the typical 'Seema' factionist.
JP acted in more than 100 films along side the top heroes of Telugu films like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu. He also acted in a few movies in Kannada and Tamil.
His last film was 'Sarileru Neekevvaru' in Telugu, produced by Anil Sunkara.
Though busy as a movie actor, JP never quit the theatre and actively continued playing roles in stage dramas. He performed a monologue as Alexander and won wide appreciation.
He also started the JP's Monthly Drama Sabha In Guntur city and encouraged theatre.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, film personalities and others expressed grief over JP's demise.
"Jayaprakash created a special place for himself in the film land through his inimitable dialogue delivery and mannerisms," the Chief Minister said in a statement. Chandrababu Naidu said JP's death was a deep loss to the Telugu film industry.
"Telugu theatre has lost a father-figure," he added. They extended sympathies to the bereaved family.
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SC stays UGC regulation pertaining to definition of caste discrimination
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a recent University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation after various pleas were filed contending that the Commission adopted a non-inclusionary definition of caste-based discrimination and excluded certain categories from institutional protection.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the UGC on the pleas challenging the regulation.
The new regulations mandating all higher education institutions to form "equity committees" to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity were notified on January 13.
The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, mandated that these committees must include members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), persons with disabilities, and women.
The new regulations replaces the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, which was largely advisory in nature.
The pleas assailed the regulation on the grounds that caste-based discrimination is defined strictly as discrimination against members of the SCs, STs and OBCs.
It said that by limiting the scope of "caste-based discrimination" only to SC, ST and OBC categories, the UGC has effectively denied institutional protection and grievance redressal to individuals belonging to the "general" or non-reserved categories who may also face harassment or bias based on their caste identity.
Protests were held at various places against the regulations, with student groups and organisations demanding its immediate rollback.
