Jana Sena Party chief and actor Pawan Kalyan on Friday regretted that BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre was yet to keep up its promise of according special status to Andhra Pradesh, even nine months after the State was bifurcated.
A day after he visited the Capital region of Andhra Pradesh and interacted with people, he spoke to the media in Hyderabad and explained how he was saddened by the fact that poor farmers who had no other livelihood would soon be deprived of their land after they harvested one more crop. He referred to the statement made by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that lands where multiple crops were grown could not be acquired by the State Government.
Referring specifically to the BJP at the Centre and at the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, he rued the absence of a vision and committed political leadership, going on to add how the repercussions of hollow policies would be felt by successive generations. Repeatedly, he spoke of how Governments and administration had not made a detailed Social Impact Assessment before going about the business of acquiring land.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu seemed enamoured and apparently committed to adopt the Singapore model of development. “While this is perfectly fine, all I want to say is that this requires committed leadership regardless of whichever party is in power. Who will give this kind of guarantee to farmers who suddenly find themselves deprived of their only source of livelihood? Can the two State Governments give any protection to the people and ensure a bright future for the farmers and their children?” he wondered.
The actor-turned-political leader who has been coming across as one who was surprisingly well-informed about people and their problems cited the example of how issues of land acquisition during the time of the late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy were still mired in problems. It was commonly said that the purpose for which the land was allotted was yet to be fulfilled, he rued.
“Take the 24,000 acres of VANPIC. The original allottees have sold 40 per cent stake to the Navayuga Group and so is the case with land allotted to MAYTAS that was also given away to the same group,” he stated, going on to add in Telugu about how people who robbed thousands of crore had Government protection while the poor didn’t apparently get any insurance of their future from the same Governments.
Asked about his future plans and if he would take to the agitational path in support of the people, Mr. Pawan Kalyan replied that he had visited the people in the Capital Region and was now using the media to showcase their problems with the powers-that-be. “Let us see how the Centre and State Governments react and then I will decide accordingly,” he said, signing off.
