Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan on Saturday exhorted the youth and women, and people of all walks of life to vote the party to power in 2024.
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“I promise a golden rule that no Chief Minister has ever provided,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said while addressing a public meeting after disbursing financial assistance under ‘Koulu Rythu Bharosa’ to the next of kin of the tenant farmers who had committed suicide, at Siddhavatam in Kadapa district.
The JSP chief looked focused and dwelt at length on the “exploitation of caste and religion” by the YSR Congress Party.
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Referring to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s remarks, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, “Humanism has been my caste and religion since childhood. I will never play caste politics. My vision is for political and social change. I am never against any community. I am for equal opportunities for all sections.”
Alleging that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was not doing justice to members of his own community, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, “A strong feeling that they are being left out has cropped up among the members of the Reddy community.”
He faulted Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for maintaining silence on his uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case despite being in power.
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“It is unfortunate that the IAS and IPS officers, and even the DGP, are unable to question the one-man domination in the State,” the JSP president said.
Referring to his brother and ‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi’s appeal to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy with folded hands to come to the rescue of the film industry, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said it smacked of the Chief Minister’s arrogance.
Recalling Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s statement in the run-up to the elections that he would “bend the neck of the Centre” if his party was given 25 MPs, the JSP president said, “A leader with criminal cases registered against him can’t question the Centre.”
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Questioning the claims of the Chief Minister on Kadapa steel plant, KC Canal project, and Special Category Status, Mr. Pawan Kalyan demanded he get funds from the Centre for the projects in Rayalaseema.
On the foray of Y.S. Sharmila into politics, the JSP president said, “When she asked if I would support her, I responded positively. But, I am against hereditary politics. Only one family wants political hegemony. What about the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, BCs and minorities?”
Recalling his role in Mr. Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party in 2008, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said due to some misguided factors, the party had been merged with the Congress.
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“Had the PRP not been merged with the Congress, the political situation in Andhra Pradesh would not have been so worse as it is now,” he said.
Speaking at length about the backwardness of the Rayalaseema region, the JSP president said people should revolt against the “political domination and intimidation” of the YSRCP leaders.
Earlier, Mr. Pawan Kalyan distributed cheques for ₹1 lakh to each of the 190 families of the deceased tenant farmers from Kadapa and Annamayya districts.
Senior leader Nanendla Manohar was present.
Freak mishap
Meanwhile, 10 JSP activists suffered minor injuries when a few vehicles in the convoy of Mr. Pawan Kalyan collided on the outskirts of Siddavatam. A few of the injured persons were rushed to the area hospital after first aid. Party sources said all the injured persons were later discharged.