Dr N Shiv Prasad sat under a tree outside Parliament holding up a cut-out of PM Modi with a peacock feather in the hair.
Highlights
- Dr N Shiv Prasad demanded special status for Andhra Pradesh
- Sat under a tree, held cut-out of PM Modi with peacock feather in hair
- The actor turned politician also broke into a folk song
Political parties and lawmakers disrupt Parliament, submit memoranda and write letters to the Prime Minister to flag their demands.
Dr N Shiv Prasad, an Andhra Pradesh lawmaker from the state's ruling Telugu Desam Party, decided to be different as he demanded special status for Andhra Pradesh today.
He sat under a tree outside Parliament dressed in a traditional dress with prayer beads or rudraksh and a saffron scarf around his neck and held up a cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a peacock feather in the hair.
Borrowing from mythology, the TDP lawmaker from Chittoor said PM Modi is Lord Krishna to his Sudama.
"Sudama was Lord Krishna's classmate. He was poor and when Krishna became the ruler of Dwarka, he hoped to get some help from the Lord and approached him. Lord Krishna didn't offer any help. But when Sudama returned, his home had turned into a palace and held much wealth," Dr Prasad said and added, "Ours is a poor, revenue deficit state and PM Modi is our Krishna. He can change lives."
Dr N Shiv Prasad was dressed in a traditional dress with prayer beads or rudraksh and a saffron scarf around his neck.
The actor turned politician then broke into a folk song to press his demand. "I am a theatre artist and I know how to play characters," he said, explaining his interpretation of the "Sudama look."
Dr Prasad highlights an award for Best Actor (Villain) for the 2005 film Danga and having had charge of cultural programmes in the state assembly in his Parliament bio. And lists "Theatre Arts" as a favourite pastime.
The Telugu Desam Party led by Chandrababu Naidu wants central benefits under special category status for Andhra Pradesh to make up, it says, for the losses it has suffered from the state's bifurcation two years ago to create a new state Telangana.
Mr Naidu's party, an ally of PM Modi's BJP, alleges inequitable distribution of resources in the division.