Pratyeka Hoda Vibhajana Hameela Sadhana Samithi convenor Chalasani Srinivas has exhorted Tollywood heroes to take a cue from Kollywood hero Vishal and donate liberally to take up a sustained campaign to wrest Special Category Status for the State from the Centre.
Addressing the media here, he said “hats off to Vishal, who has donated a rupee from every ticket of film Thuparivallan sold for the farmers’ welfare. I wonder why such a gesture is not forthcoming from Tollywood actors, who have acted in films like Khaidi No. 150, Gautamiputra Satakarni, Baahubali etc?”
Bus yatra
He said he was mulling roping in actor-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam Katchi founder Kamal Haasan for a massive meeting in Visakhapatnam to strengthen the fight for SCS and other benefits due to the State under the State Reorganisation Act and make a concerted bid to stop the onward march of the BJP to “Dravidian States(southern States).” Coinciding with the new academic year, the Samithi would undertake a State-wide bus yatra by roping in elite sections of people, including professors, to educate people on the need for a united struggle cutting across party lines, he said.
‘Block traffic’
As part of the campaign, the Samithi activists would block vehicular traffic on national highways only at inter-State borders to highlight the ‘injustice’ done to the State by the Centre without putting people to hardship, he added.
Students and teachers from public and private schools would be mobilised in a big way to give a push to the movement for SCS, he said.
“The need of the hour is to put pressure on the ruling TDP and the opposition YSRCP to sink their political differences and collectively fight for the State’s cause cutting across party lines.”