The Lok Satta Party refuted Mr. Chiranjeevi’s contention that people voted for the Praja Rajyam out of personal affection towards him and not as an alternative to the Congress and the TDP. Mr. Chiranjeevi’s comments are an affront to the more than 70 lakh people who voted him in the 2009 general election, said Lok Satta Party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao, G. Raja Reddy and V. Vijayender Reddy.
Addressing media, the Lok Satta leaders said Mr. Chiranjeevi seemed to nurse the illusion of being a hero even in politics. But unlike in movies, voters are the real heroes in politics. In politics, politicians exist to serve people and not the other way round.
The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that Mr. Chiranjeevi had let down people by throwing his agenda to the winds, merging his party with the Congress and pledging to abide by its decisions.
People believed that as a charismatic leader, Chiranjeevi would provide an alternative to the Congress and the TDP. Instead, Mr. Chiranjeevi seemed to view voters as mere flag bearers and voting machines who could be taken for a ride.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao, Mr. Raja Reddy and Mr. V. Vijayender Reddy said deification of leaders is prevalent in some other traditional parties too. They regard politics as their private property.
In contrast to such parties, the Lok Satta believes in pursuing citizen-centric politics. People thirsting for new politics should embrace the Lok Satta Party, they said.
The Lok Satta leaders demanded that the Hindujas be asked to supply power from their proposed Visakhapatnam thermal power plant at NTPC rates as agreed to earlier, considering that the Government had allocated them land at a concessional rate and facilitated coal linkages. If the Hindujas’ demand for a higher rate of even a rupee per unit is conceded, the 1000 mw plant with a potential to produce 20 million units a day would impose a burden of Rs. 2 crore a day or more than Rs.700 crore a year on the people of the State.
The Lok Satta leaders also questioned the Government rationale in encouraging establishment of plants to generate three times more than the nearly 15,000 mw the State needs. Of that, nearly 28,000 mw is to come from merchant power plants. Such skewed policies may encourage economic growth in other States but saddle the State with avoidable pollution.
Addressing media, the Lok Satta leaders said Mr. Chiranjeevi seemed to nurse the illusion of being a hero even in politics. But unlike in movies, voters are the real heroes in politics. In politics, politicians exist to serve people and not the other way round.
The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that Mr. Chiranjeevi had let down people by throwing his agenda to the winds, merging his party with the Congress and pledging to abide by its decisions.
People believed that as a charismatic leader, Chiranjeevi would provide an alternative to the Congress and the TDP. Instead, Mr. Chiranjeevi seemed to view voters as mere flag bearers and voting machines who could be taken for a ride.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao, Mr. Raja Reddy and Mr. V. Vijayender Reddy said deification of leaders is prevalent in some other traditional parties too. They regard politics as their private property.
In contrast to such parties, the Lok Satta believes in pursuing citizen-centric politics. People thirsting for new politics should embrace the Lok Satta Party, they said.
The Lok Satta leaders demanded that the Hindujas be asked to supply power from their proposed Visakhapatnam thermal power plant at NTPC rates as agreed to earlier, considering that the Government had allocated them land at a concessional rate and facilitated coal linkages. If the Hindujas’ demand for a higher rate of even a rupee per unit is conceded, the 1000 mw plant with a potential to produce 20 million units a day would impose a burden of Rs. 2 crore a day or more than Rs.700 crore a year on the people of the State.
The Lok Satta leaders also questioned the Government rationale in encouraging establishment of plants to generate three times more than the nearly 15,000 mw the State needs. Of that, nearly 28,000 mw is to come from merchant power plants. Such skewed policies may encourage economic growth in other States but saddle the State with avoidable pollution.
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I guess Chiranjeevi has learnt that after the elections itself! But Loksatta should refrain from such personlized criticism.
ReplyDelete@anonymous, what's wrong in this criticism. I feel exactly the same - Chiranjeevi dumped people of AP. He formed PRP just for his own sake and in the end (within 1-2 years) merged the party with Congress..what a shame!
ReplyDeletei second saurabh khare, why did he even create PRP??
ReplyDelete@saurabh his deeds must be criticised not the person himself. I felt asking to shed his illusions of being a hero was unnecessary. Loksatta should set and maintain high standards in political talk as it promised. -anonymous
ReplyDeleteBoth PRP and Loksatta promised 'new politics', a change! The modern educated youth were divided between these two parties. Now Chiru's 'move' has left Loksatta to be the only hope. This merger may or maynot help PRP or congress but definitely helps Loksatta. We should explore this opportunity to strengthen ourselves.
ReplyDelete