VISAKHAPATNAM: Throwing down the gauntlet at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan on Friday dared him to quit and join his fight to secure the promised railway zone for Visakhapatnam.Addressing a public meeting at Tagarapuvalasa, he said, “If you are sincere on the railway zone, please resign from the CM’s post and participate in the agitation. We along with even Opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy can jointly protest at the railway station and stop all the trains and see why will the Union government not sanction the railway zone to AP.”
Citing a video that recently went viral on the social media, wherein some TDP MPs could be seen making light of the railway zone demand, Pawan questioned their sincerity. “As we lost faith in those leaders, I challenge you and the Opposition Leader to come to the battlefield and together, we will stage a protest in Visakhapatnam until the Central government announces the separate railway zone,” Pawan said.He reiterated that he was not scared of any cases, and was not that type of a leader who sends his followers first and go last.
Pawan asked the ruling TDP leaders to make their stand clear on the issues like the fishermen’s agitation for the SC/ST status, Kapu reservation, Mudapaka land grabbing, Chittivalasa jute mill shutdown, Divis Lab and Gangavaram port pollution. Criticising the local MP and MLAs for the land grabbing, land mafia activities, Pawan said: “There is no jetty for fishermen here, but boats owned by minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and MP Haribabu wouldn’t face any difficulty to operate. They won’t bother about the poor fishermen. Is the north Andhra area TDP leaders’ fiefdom?”