With the 2019 general elections not too far away, actor and politician Pawan Kalyan’s preparations seem to be in full swing. The Jana Sena Party president’s recent U-turn on the special status to Andhra Pradesh has sent confusing signals.
Added to this, Pawan Kalyan was seen heaping profuse praises on Chandrababu Naidu in the initial years of the latter’s election as AP chief minister. Suddenly now, he’s accusing the TDP government of being corrupt. The actor feels the ‘special’ tag doesn’t matter and what is important is financial help from the Centre. Apart from this, PK made several puzzling statements that did not go down well with state supporters or even his fans.
When questioned later, PK denied the sudden change in stance, claiming that he had tried to take up the matter with Naidu several times but the CM did not pay heed.
Pawan remains incommunicado
The problem with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party is that there is no one available to comment or answer the questions raised. Anything that’s uncomfortable to answer, PK is incommunicado. He recently appointed a media advisor, but when contacted, he too was reluctant to answer any questions about the party and PK.
The new advisor seems scared that the media might write negative stories! So right now, it is very difficult to get any information about any issues from the party spokesperson. This, despite the fact that the JSP recently announced on its Twitter page that it had appointed five persons from the party to appear on discussions on news channels!
Sivaji also targetted
Another politician PK levelled several allegations against at the meet was actor Sivaji, a member of the Andhra Pradesh Pratyeka Hoda Sadhana Samithi, who has always stood up for the cause of AP’s special status. However, Sivaji was not one to take it sitting down and fired a barrage of questions at his actor-politico peer.
‘Don’t like PK, then don’t vote for him’
Filmmaker Tammareddy Bharadwaj, who is a supporter of a special status for AP too, says, “There are some strategies in politics and everyone uses them. Whether Pawan Kalyan is sincere and responsible or not is decided by the people. If he is silent, and people believe that he is not genuine, then they shouldn’t vote for him. He need not respond to every allegation and accusation made by other politicians or leaders.”
‘A politician is answerable to people’
You can be a private person in films, but in politics, you are answerable to people. If actors enter politics purely because of their fame and charisma, they need to rethink their actions. If you treat politics like cinema, then you are done. Yes, people will criticise and troll you on social media, but you have to be open to criticism because they are your stakeholders and you are accountable to them. You need to come up with a clear idea and focus on issues that the state faces. Also, people should vote for the actors, not because of who they are, but for their political agendas. We need governance, not rule.
— Prakash Raj, Actor
Sivaji asked:
The main issue is special status for AP, which you have put aside and are now talking about national integrity and security. Why have you completely diverted from the issue?
At a meeting last year, you promised that you would get special status for AP. It was all recorded on camera. But you never took any responsibility to get it done.
You organised a plenary session of your party. All you did was criticise all the other parties — there was no discussion about the special status matter.
You continue to say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is your friend; so why can’t you pursue him for a special status?
When KCR announced the Third Front, you immediately called a media conference to express your support for him. You even met KCR personally and congratulated him. But after a few days, when you were questioned about the Third Front, you said you were still thinking about it. Why make such confusing statements?
You have been talking about the sand mafia and the incident where a TDP MLA assaulted a woman MRO. This had happened a couple of years ago. Why are you talking about it now? Why didn’t you speak or even tweet about it at the time it happened? I had raised both these issues at the right time, when they actually took place!
Whenever you are in the mood, you call for a public meeting or a media conference and give some statements. Why don’t you come and sit with the public regularly?
I am ready to debate with anyone from your Jana Sena Party. But I don’t think there’s anyone except you!
