Ending his dithering for long, former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy launched a new political party, Jai Samaikyandhra Party, at a public meeting held here on Wednesday.
Underlining the need for unified state of Andhra Pradesh, he reiterated his popular slogan ‘Samaikyam Maa Ninandam Kaadu, Maa Vidhaanam’ (United state is not just our slogan, it is our policy).
The new party’s leaders took pains to explain that the state was divided violating the constitutional procedures and were confident that the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court would strike off the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to keep Telugu people united.
Addressing the first public meeting of JSP at Gemini Grounds, Kiran said the party was floated to fight for a united state and for the unity of Telugu people. He scotched the rumours that the party was floated to rehabilitate the politically unemployed and claimed that the party was not for power but for Telugu people.
“People of both the regions will suffer hardships in power, water, education and other sectors due to the division,” he said and claimed that the people of Telangana too were opposing division.
The former chief minister targeted all political parties for the current situation and claimed that only his party can fight for the unity of Telugu people.
“Peddamma (Sonia Gandhi), chinnamma (Sushma Swaraj), pedababu (N Chandrababu Naidu) and chinababu (Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy) are the real culprits for the state division. They went against the Constitution and had the AP Reorganisation Bill passed behind closed doors by suspending elected representatives and cutting the live telecast.”
He accused the Congress, TDP, BJP and the YSR Congress of cheating people for their political mileage and said it was time they were taught a lesson.
Apart from fighting the legal battle against the state division, JSP would be fielding young leaders to contest the elections. The leaders sought people’s mandate for winning the maximum number of 25 Lok sabha and 175 Assembly seats to stop the division. Kiran termed Union minister Jairam Ramesh as a foolish intellectual for trying to convince people that the state was divided and there was no need for a constitutional amendment.
Lok Sabha members GV Harsha Kumar, Undavalli Arun Kumar, Sabbam Hari and Lagadapati Rajagopal, MLAs Bharathi and Neeraja Reddy, MLC Reddappa Reddy, Anam Jaya Kumar Reddy, and Gazal Srinivas were present.