‘TDP compromised several times on SCS’

Film star-turned-politician and Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan has decided to intensify the pitch in support of granting the special category status to Andhra Pradesh as assured in the AP Reorganisation Act.

The Jana Sena founder held discussions with the CPI(M) and CPI leaders at his party office here on Monday to discuss about the future course of action. The three parties have decided to meet again on April 4 to decide the future course of action, which includes holding public meetings in Anantapur, Visakhapatnam and Ongole.

Briefing reporters later, Mr. Pawan Kalyan expressed concern that the TDP was frequently changing its stance on the special category status (SCS), while the BJP - which assured to concede the demand if voted to power - was dilly-dallying on the issue. The main Opposition YSR Congress Party, for its part, could not mount pressure on the Centre to grant SCS, as assured on the floor of the Parliament.

“The TDP leadership compromised on SCS more than once and put it off on one pretext or the other. People have lost confidence in the party, as it could not achieve SCS in four years and doubt it would be capable of doing it in the future,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said.

He recalled that the Centre had announced a special package after Jana Sena’s public meeting in Guntur. “But it failed to give any legal or constitutional guarantee,” he said.

In a trenchant attack on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s government policies, he said unemployment was on the rise and farmers were denied remunerative prices for their produce. The government repeatedly expressed concern over the State’s financial situation, but spent lavishly to conduct pushkaralu.

“The capital in Amaravati is not a people’s capital. It is meant for a select few in the Telugu Desam,” he charged, adding there was no provision for accommodating people from backward parts of north coastal Andhra districts or Rayalaseema districts in the new capital.

The actor refused to respond to questions about BJP president Amit Shah’s letter to Mr. Naidu on the allocations made by the Centre. “The letter was addressed by the president of a party. We can examine the issues raised had the letter come from the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said.

CPI(M) AP secretary P. Madhu said the State was facing a financial crisis and was unable to fulfil its promises on employment generation or providing remunerative prices to farmers. CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna alleged that Mr. Naidu was creating ‘drama’ in the garb of fighting the Centre after compromising on the State’s interests for four long years.

The three parties decided to bring youth, intellectuals and other sections of society to one platform and carry forward the struggle in the interests of the State.