Not to join Kiran Kumar Reddy government
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, who with much fanfare launched the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in 2008 as “an alternative to the Congress and Telugu Desam Party” in Andhra Pradesh and “to protect the poor and social justice and fight corruption” on Sunday announced the PRP's merger with the Congress “without any pre-condition.”
A staunch supporter of united Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chiranjeevi also announced, after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi here for over 30 minutes, that the PRP, which had 18 MLAs in the Assembly, would not join the Congress government led by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
A representative of the majority Kappu community and hailing from the West Godavari district (in coastal Andhra Pradesh), Mr. Chiranjeevi is an MLA from Tirupati.
After meeting Ms. Gandhi, the actor told journalists that the decision was taken keeping in mind the “best interests” of the people of Andhra Pradesh as the PRP and the Congress fought for social justice.
The Law and Justice Minister and in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Congress affairs M. Veerappa Moily, who was present at the meeting along with Defence Minister and senior Congress leader A.K. Antony (who brokered the merger by holding talks with Mr. Chiranjeevi in Hyderbad on Monday last) said: “Mr. Chiranjeevi has now become a member of the Congress family. I am quite happy.”
Jagan factor
Asked whether the move was to counter the threat posed by the former Congress MP from Kadapa, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who claimed the support of at least 25 Congress MLAs and two MLAs each from the TDP and the PRP, Mr. Moily shot back: “We are not against anybody. The move is just to strengthen the Congress.”
Though the PRP gained as many as 18 seats in the 2009 Assembly elections in the State within nine months of its launch with a big bang in Tirupati, Mr. Chiranjeevi's decision to merge it with the Congress was seen by political pundits as an opportunity to get “mutual benefit.”
The PRP extended its support to the Congress during the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha held last year.
Keywords: Praja Rajyam Party, PRP-Congress merger, Chiranjeevi, Jaganmohan Reddy, YSR
Shouldn't the PRP MLAs be disqualified since people elected them when they were part of the PRP?
Chiru: merging with the Congress is the big and worst thing you did in your life. It shows your lack of political knowledge.We, your followers, who left our jobs (taken leave for a week for campaign )and ran behind you. You made us fools who trusted you with full faith but you betrayed me. With a pain and anger I am writing this. You have lost hope and trust (decreased the moral values) and you lost a good follower its true.
Chiranjeevi, a man with passion for service to the humanity has always been involved in supporting the weaker segments and the needy. He took the selfless service of Mother Teresa as his ideology and teachings of Phule as his guidance. His Blood Bank in Hyderabad is an execllent example for his mindset. By allocating more than 40% of the MLA seats to the backward class candidates, he amply demonstrated his ambition to the public. Chiranjeevi joining the Congress party will bring in much value to this National Party and the new platform helps him in a much bigger way to help and support the downtrodden and neglected classes of the society.
Please mention it as actor-turned comedian politician. What a shame on him for selling the pride of Telugu and Andhra people. Andhra in Sanskrit means as half-Aryan and half-Dravidian. Such is the greatness of this state. An intricate social engineering by mighty kings and leaders. seriously what a shame. K. Varaprasad(alias Chiranjeevi) was never a politician. He just used his cine-makeup and gave the full authority to his brother-in-law, Allu Aravind. He is just a puppet in the hands of such clueless big shots. Now, Ms. Sonia thinks that this sort of inefficient leader could turn politics at the center! What a pity. There are lot more able leaders out there. If you can't see, just move aside and allow the able leadership to handle the job.
this merger won't strengthen the Congress in any way, already there are many groups in Congress. Now there will also be Chiranjeevi group. Only Allu Aravind will be gain to make more profits in his business.Good start for Jagan.
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