Congress leader and Tirupati MLA K Chiranjeevi said on Wednesday his emergence into the political horizon was to show that politics was not about mudslinging and for playing destructive politics.
Participating in the silver jubilee celebrations of Chaitanya Sravanthi, an NGO founded by former MLA and former VUDA Chairman S.A. Rahman, at the Andhra University convocation theatre here on Tuesday, Mr. Chiranjeevi said he felt more comfortable in a non-political meeting of the kind and interact with the people above politics than in a political meeting as mudslinging campaigns had become the order of the day. Referring to the recently-concluded Assembly session, Mr. Chiranjeevi said what he had seen was defamatory campaign at personal level and trading of charges based on political affiliations in Assembly which was supposed to deliberate on plight of the farmers.
The Congress leader said he was pained at the way senior leaders indulged in political mudslinging of the worst sort, diluting the very purpose of debate on problems of farmers. Welcoming senior Congress leader Bhattam Sreerama Murthy's faith in his exemplary style of politics, Mr. Chiranjeevi said he would live up to the expectations of people who yearned for breathing new air in politics. It was a privilege for him to participate in a meeting attended by thousands of women whose welfare was dearer to him, he said. He was surprised at the volume of turnover achieved by the NGO and the economic empowerment of more than 6,000 Self Help Groups women in 25 years. Quoting Mother Teresa he said ‘small things should be done with a big heart'. Serving society through blood bank and eye bank had given him more satisfaction and joy than becoming an achiever in the field of acting in films, Mr. Chiranjeevi said.
Complimenting the president of Chaitanya Sravanthi Shirin Rahman for her contribution to the upliftment of women, Mr. Chiranjeevi described her commitment to work as addiction to service. He defined politics as an instrument to serve the people.
Mr. Bhattam Sreerama Murthy said despite his age he had come to see Mr. Chiranjeevi the man who promised to breathe fresh air into politics and expressed the hope that he would bring the change that the people were craving for. He described Mr. Chiranjeevi as a saviour who came to the rescue of the Congress government in the Assembly during the recent no confidence motion tabled by the Opposition.
Dr. Shirin Rahman detailed the challenging journey of service commenced in 1987 by Chaitanya Sravanti and how the activities grew leaps and bounds over the years. She said the economic lot of more than 6,000 women had been improved apart from being instrumental in educating hundreds of youth and creating health awareness among women. S.A. Rahman, founder of the organisation, presided.
MLAs Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, Tynala Vijaya Kumar, Malla Vijaya Prasad, M. Srinivasa Rao, and Ch Venkatramaiah and GVMC Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu were among those who participated in the meeting.
