Hyderabad: Popular Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan, who floated the Jana Sena before Lok Sabha elections last year, is back again in the political space. Just days after meeting Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu at his residence, Mr Kalyan visited villages where farmers had been resisting handing over their land to the government as part of a land pooling exercise to build a new capital, and fired his salvo.
Mr Kalyan first questioned the necessity to acquire over 32000 acres of land and pointed out that it would be bigger than Singapore, which Mr Naidu wants to emulate. He also said he had visited Thullur, Penamaka and Undavalli villages, and the people there had reservations and doubts which the government must address.
The actor-turned-self anointed social voice also said the BJP had let down the people of the state by not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh. "Now they say, if we give Andhra Pradesh, other states will also ask. In that case why did they promise inside and outside Parliament?" he asked. He said his intention was not to target Chandrababu Naidu or his Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Pawan Kalyan also said there must be a social impact assessment when lands are acquired. "We must know what impact it will have on the lives of landless labourers who live off the land," he said, indirectly commenting on the new Bill on land acquisition that is to come up in Parliament next week.
Mr Kalyan had supported the TDP-BJP combine before the Lok Sabha elections last year, even standing up against his brother Chiranjeevi who is with the Congress. He had met then Prime Minister candidate Narendra Modi and shared a dais with him.
The government had set February 28 as the deadline for land pooling, by paying compensation to farmers, and had acquired over 32000 acres by that time. The government has said in the earmarked area, no cultivation should happen post April this year. In order to convince farmers, the chief ministers had announced enhanced compensation.
While clarifying that he is not against any plans to build a grand, world class capital, Mr Kalyan pointed out that time and again, in the name of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), land had been acquired but misused by vested interests.
Asked whether he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss these issues, Pawan Kalyan said, it is first upto the MPs to take this up. And then, if necessary and if issues are not resolved, he would take some steps.
Rebutting Mr Kalyan's criticism, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had said yesterday that a capital could be built in 100 or 1000 acres but it won't have value, in terms of attracting investment. "It is the farmers who will lose out," Mr Naidu had said.
Pawan Kalyan also said the government's orders to stop all cultivation at one go in the new capital development region is wrong. "The capital will be developed only in phases. So stopping cultivation can also happen in phases," he argued.