Pawan faults AP government on sand issue

Visakhapatnam: Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan has set a deadline of two weeks for the AP government to resolve the sand crisis in the state. While demanding Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of each of the 36 workers who committed suicide, he asked the government to provide Rs 50,000 from the workers' welfare fund as they were deprived of work.

Addressing a huge gathering after the completion of the long march to extend his support to the construction workers, Pawan said that if the government failed to resolve the sand issue, he would take out a march to Amravati. He challenged the government to stop if they could.

He also said that he would go to Delhi and apprise the Central leaders of the situation in the state. He said any party that comes to power starts with constructive activity but in Andhra Pradesh, the government started its work in a destructive manner and the same attitude was continuing. If the government does not change its style of functioning, it will also be pulled down, he said.

Pawan was highly critical of YSRCP leaders, ministers and its Parliamentary Party leader Vijaisai Reddy. Reacting to calling him as adopted son of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu or B Team of the TDP, the Jana Sena leader said that he was showing restraint and not "exposing" the YSRCP leaders. He said he knows what had transpired between them and the Central leaders during their Delhi visits.

He said, "Rajya Sabha was a place where great stalwarts like Alladi Ramaswamy used to be the members of the Elders House but now it is country's misfortune that the people who had suitcase companies and went to jail were in the Rajya Sabha."

He also expressed his ire over the questioning of his DNA by Vijaisai Reddy. He said, "Did he not know what my DNA was when he invited me to attend the marriage of his daughter," he asked.

Pawan said that he was not a person who would be scared of faction politics. He said the YSRCP leaders were repeatedly saying he had lost at two places. "So what?" It does not deter him to stand by the people. Even great leaders like Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram had also lost elections but they never stopped from fighting for the people's cause.

He said like YSRCP leaders he does not have crores of rupees. But has the guts to fight injustice. He said if the government was faltering on every issue despite having good officers like Ajeya Kallam, it only shows that it is one man's rule that is prevailing in the state.

"A person who has to attend the court every Friday cannot provide good governance," he said. Pawan lamented that while in Telangana all parties came under one umbrella to extend support to the RTC strike, it was unfortunate that in Andhra Pradesh people look everything in terms of caste.

This needs to be changed if the state must progress, he said. Apart from Jana Sena, leaders of the TDP and BJP and other organisations participated in the long march and public meeting.