Pawan ready for Special fast

Amaravati: Building a strong case for Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday declared that he would go on a fast unto death, if necessary, to achieve the demand since it was the right of the people.

“I am sure I may have to go on fast unto death and when the time comes, I will not back out,” the actor- turned- politician said at a huge public meeting organised to mark the third anniversary of the party in an open area in front of Acharya Nagarjuna University between Guntur and Vijayawada.

He demanded that the Centre should review its decision on SCS. “I will take up political fight and will show what is Andhra Atmagauravam. Jana Sena will resort to protests on streets. The Centre should retrace its step since what they are doing is in violation of the Constitution,” he said. 

Pawan Kalyan made a fervent appeal to the people to support Jana Sena party in the next election since a new era is going to replace the last 30-year-old rotten system that had been living and thriving at the expense of the people. “If anyone approaches you with money at the time of elections, lap it up but vote for Jana Sena,” he said as crowds cheered him lustily.

The key takeaways from Pawan Kalyan’s address were: He would contest the elections in 2019, he will not support either the Telugu Desam Party or the BJP, conveys the impression that he is running for the chief minister’s position and announces that party’s philosophy would be placed before the people in the form of a manifesto on August 14.

The matinee idol, contrary to expectations, did not explain the roadmap for his party except making his stand clear against corruption and that he was not proxy to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

“Do I look like Naidu’s man even after what I have said till now,” he questioned the YSRC, which keeps saying that he was coming into the fray only to divide the Opposition vote and thus help Naidu win the election.

He cornered the YSRC as to why they had not yet moved no-confidence motion against the BJP in Parliament if they were really all that serious about SCS. He also took exception to the BJP's top honchos giving interviews to the YSRC leaders, including V Vijaya Sai Reddy. “Why is this sudden love for YSRC? What is cooking,” he asked.

Pawan Kalyan’s speech centred around the urgent need for granting of special category status and how the TDP had bungled in getting it. “The TDP now says that it wants SCS.

Then why did you settle for package and why are you asking for SCS now? Why were you in sync with the Centre when Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on one fine day, delivered the special package in the middle of night in 2016 which made everyone wonder whether it was the result of a secret agreement between the Centre and the state, with players in the state getting something in return for agreeing to the package.

Pawan Kalyan, who had said only in January, that he would not adopt a confrontationist attitude towards the chief ministers of either of the two Telugu states, launched a pincer attack on Chandrababu Naidu at the public meeting, detailing the areas in which he had bungled and how Naidu had made life difficult for himself. “In 2019, I am sure, it may not be smooth sailing for TDP,” he said.

The film actor, raising the issue of corruption, touched Chandrababu Naidu’s raw nerve, by mentioning the infamous vote-for-note scam in which Naidu is alleged to have been involved. "I did not go full blast at Naidu then because he was just settling as the chief minister and why derail his attempts to rebuild the state.

Though I did not support vote-for-note scam, yet I looked the other way in the larger interests of the state but I am not prepared to remain quiet, he said pointing out that he had supported Naidu in 2014 for reconstruction of AP and not Telugu Desam Party.

He said he would be conferring with CPI and CPM leaders on Thursday to discuss the roadmap for achieving SCS which reinforced the impression that they would be his political allies in future, given his left-leanings.

For now, it appears the cornerstone of the party’s manifesto would be to ensure financial security to the citizens, framing of proper rules for aquaculture to minimise pollution of water bodies, fight for petro complex at Kakinada and employment opportunities for the youth. “We will not leave Railway Zone with Head Quarters at Visakhaptnam,” Pawan Kalyan said.

To strike an emotional chord with the audience, he had invited the students of Fatima Medical College in Kadapa who were, denied seats after admission and how state government remained callous to their predicament.  

Similarly, he presented women to the audience who were harassed by the police in West Godavari for raising their voice against pollution by aqua firms. He appealed to the people to join his party. “Just give me a missed call on 9394022222 and you are Jana Sena member. I am only a missed call away from you,” he said.