Balladeer Gaddar has announced his resolve to start awareness campaign to educate people, particularly those in the rural remote areas, about the value of the vote they cast for the political parties from November 15.
The campaign will start from the constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in Adilabad or Khammam and will later be extended to constituencies where contestants hailing from the backward and most backward classes are contesting. Mr. Gaddar called on Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar on Thursday and requested him to enhance security to him in view of the upcoming awareness campaign.
The balladeer said he wanted enhancement of security as the police authorities who inquired into an earlier attempt on his life said “the enemies remained undetected”. “Since the enemies are undetected, it is the responsibility of the government to protect my life especially at a time when I am launching the campaign on Save Constitution – save India,” he said.
People’s agenda
Mr. Gaddar described the current elections as fight between “imperialist alliances and fundamentalist feudal landlords” and said he would campaign about the people’s agenda that should form part of the manifestos of political parties. Farmers should be in a position to decide about market prices for their produce, measures to ensure jobs to youth and extending benefit of fee reimbursement to students in private educational institutions would form part of the agenda.
Mr. Gaddar dismissed reports that he was set to join the Congress and said he had met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to explain about his ‘Save Constitution’ campaign. He said he did not put aside his intentions to contest as an independent candidate from Gajwel constituency, represented by caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and would take a decision at an appropriate time in consultation with the people. In the meantime, he would reach out each and every village in the constituency to educate people about the importance of their vote.
