As expected Jana Sena Party president and movie star Pawan Kalyan played the role of trouble shooter for chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, his political ally. He advised caution to Kapu leaders, who are organizing the movement for BC status, not to lose sight of constitutional methods for achieving their goal.
Quoting Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Pawan said when there was a strong constitution, anti constitutional methods were meaningless. “We should first exhaust all constitutional means to resolve the contentious issues ,” he said. He also cautioned the leaders against organizing agitation unannounced like what Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham did in Tuni on Sunday.
Following the break out of violence on Sunday in Tuni , Pawan, also a Kapu leader, rushed back to Hyderabad from Kerala, where he was on shoot, to address the media on Kapu quota issue. He also warned the leaders of the movement against playing up with people’s emotions which were potential enough to lead to violence. Pawan felt there should not be any sudden decision with regard to the struggles when people were not prepared.
He said how the leaders of Telangana movement used to announce the dates of their activities much earlier to prepare the people for the agitation. Pawan felt it was missing in Tuni.
Pawan reminded the protagonists of Kapu movement how the violence and illegal methods delayed the achievement of Independence by 15 years. ” What happened in Chauri Chaura? The non-cooperation movement called upon by Mahatma Gandhi suddenly turned violent. Gandhiji had to call off the nation-wide non-cooperation movement as a result of violence. His withdrawal from the movement delayed the achievement of Independence,” he said as if it was a lesson to Mudragada Padmanabham.
“General impression among the Kapus is that Commissions won’t do any benefit. This apprehension should be cleared by the government. The need of the hour is not blame game. it should be resolved amicably,” he said.
The surprise element is that he did not announce direct support to Kapu movement like a leader of a political party. But he requested the government to ensure that Kapu reservations should not eat into the quota of BCs.
Regarding the role of the government, Pawan wondered as to how the state government could not anticipate trouble when large number of people were assembling for a political cause. ” Had the government anticipated it and taken preventive measure, the violence could have been averted,’ he felt.
The power star is for amicable settlement of the issue. Stating that the Kapu reservation issue had not cropped overnight, he averred it had been there for decades and there should be some dialogue between the two sides to resolve the issue.
” Since this was the poll promise of the Telugu Desam party, the government should work to resolve it as early possible. Kapus are impatient over the delay in the implementation of quota to Kapus. Government should tell the people if it is not in a position to implement it. Lack of this clarity on the part of the government is leading to confusion among the people,” he said.
As for violence, he ruled out the role of people who came to attend the public meeting Ikhya Garjana in the torching of the train and the setting of two polices station of fire. ” Because torching of a train bogey can’t be done with simple match sticks. It needs some expertise and skilled hands. It must have been the handiwork of antisocial elements who sneaked into the Ikhya Garjana,” he opined and added that they should be identified and brought to book.
Pawan was categorical in that he doesn’t represent a single community.” I am for national integration. I can’t respond keeping only my caste in mind. I will not fight for only one caste. But, for all castes,” he said.
