Vijayawada: Why polls if YSRCP believes in violence, asks Pawan Kalyan

Vijayawada: Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan lambasted the YSR Congress here on Thursday stating that the party doesn't have respect for democracy.

Addressing the media after releasing the BJP-JSP Vision document for the local body elections along with BJP state president Kanna Lakshminarayana, Daggubati Purandeswari, Nadendla Manohar and Sunil Deodhar, Pawan said that the YSRCP was trying to win the elections by means of violence and intimidation.

"People are shuddering even to imagine the scenario during the polling if the ruling party is indulging in such violence in the nominations phase it self," he said.

Pawan regretted that the TDP government avoided elections for local bodies during its term while the present YSRCP government is indulging in violence.

The Jana Sena was planning to give chance to the youth in the local body elections but the YSRCP was creating such scenes to intimidate them while filing nominations, he said.

Recalling the statement of Delhi journalists that Andhra Pradesh was becoming another Bihar, he said that the YSRCP was proving that it was right by snatching the nomination papers, pelting stones at the leaders of Jana Sena and BJP and even threatening the farmers of West Godavari that their land would be acquired for house sites if they do not cooperate. He felt the absence of the officers like T N Seshan to implement the election rules effectively. "It was the responsibility of the State Election Commission to protect the common man from the atrocities," he said.

BJP state president Kanna Lakshaminarayana said that it was like dictatorship coupled with factionism in the present local body elections. He said that they had seen the factionists snatching the tender forms from rivals during their submission but this was the first time the nomination papers were snatched away from the candidates.

Expressing concern over the 'murder of democracy', he said that the posts of the local bodies should have been filled by nominations instead of conducting elections. He took exception to the warning by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy that the ministers and MLAs would lose their posts if the elections were lost. "This made them to indulge in such violent activities like snatching away of nomination papers," he opined.

He said that even the officials and the police were behaving like YSRCP activists. He recalled that Durgi police inspector threatened some candidates of dire consequences if they did not withdraw the nominations.

Sunil Deodhar, BJP leader and in-charge of AP affairs, said that the democracy in the state was in peril. The mindless violence and rowdyism were reflecting the behaviour of the Chief Minister and his henchmen.

He described Chandrababu and Jagan Mohan Reddy as poisonous snakes which spew venom. He said that he was reminding Jagan that the lotus would bloom from the mud only. "Whatever the hurdles you place, the lotus that is Kamal of the BJP would bloom," he asserted.

BJP leaders Paka Satyanarayana, Somu Veerraju, P V N Madhav, Pydikondala Mainkya Rao, Jana Sena leader P Rammohan Rao and others were present.