Jana Sena party chief and cine actor Pawan Kalyan, who addressed an instant public meeting in Tirupati on Saturday, has stirred up a hornet’s nest by coming down heavily on the TDP and the BJP for failing on the issue of Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.
The unexpected and ‘unwarranted’ comments of Mr. Pawan irked many and the whole episode has witnessed a knee-jerk reaction from both the parties which are in power in the State and at the Centre. The cine actor-cum-politician’s pungent remarks on the silence of the State leadership attracted the attention of all the important leaders. Incidentally, the supporting statements by none other than the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Vijayawada on Sunday gave a mysterious political colour to the SCS issue.
Mr. Gowda said the onus lies on the ruling BJP to honour promises made to the bifurcated AP.
The first reaction came from A.P. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who, probably for the first time, said that the TDP would not hesitate to wage a direct war with the BJP, its alliance partner and party in power at the Centre.
While stating that he is not scared of anyone, Mr. Naidu said the struggle for SCS would not stop until it the goal achieved.
Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishnamurthy sounded positive and said Pawan’s call would bolster the State’s demand for SCS. The AP NGOs president P. Ashok Babu too said employees would join the fight for SCS if necessary.
Responding to the comments of Mr. Pawan that MPs should resign, Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy said Mr. Pawan’s reaction is unwarranted and he is willing to resign provided that would help in achieving SCS. Another Rajya Sabha member from Rayalaseema, TG Venkatesh called Mr. Pawan an immature leader.
Three-phase plan
Mr. Pawan Kalyan did not stop at criticising the failure of the parties. He announced a three-phase plan to achieve SCS. In the first stage, he will tour all the districts explaining the failure of the parties concerned. The first meet is scheduled on September 9 in Kakinada, the place where the BJP adopted a resolution to divide AP into Telangana and Seemandhra way back in 1998. All the MPs and MLAs from the TDP and the BJP will be pressured to fight for SCS in the second phase. In the third phase, he will hit the streets if the BJP continues to be silent on the demand.
Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani), however, said Jana Sena’s protests will harm the interests of the State. Instead, Mr. Pawan should protest in Delhi, said Mr. Nani.
As a matter of fact, the SCS issue has become a sensitive one for all the political parties in A.P. Given the gravity of the situation, the parties are neither in a position to support or remain silent. Not very long ago, a similar political situation prevailed in the State and at the Centre when Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao moved the private member Bill on SCS in the last session of Parliament in July.
The alliance partners and ruling parties in the State and at the Centre were seen making defensive statements on the issue.
