VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has appealed to the farmers of Undavalli, Penumaka and Bethapudi villages in the capital region not to give their lands if the TDP government invokes the Land Acquisition Act. If the government tries to use force or police, he would stand between the farmers and the rulers, the actor-turned-politician assured.
Advising the TDP government to control its thirst for land, Pawan, who interacted with the farmers in Undavalli on Sunday, requested the State government to let the residents of the three villages live peacefully.
“Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu should change his policies. I am not against development. However, government’s bid to procure more land, besides the already taken 33,000 acres, should not be justified. The government can take the lands if the farmers are willing, but if it tries to use force like in Basheer Bagh or Singur incidents, I will be in the forefront to oppose it,” he said, adding that the President of India might have given a nod to the amendment made to the Act, but the government should take the landholders’ consent as a priority.
Pawan Kalyan observed that the farmers, who had given their lands for steel plant in Visakhpatnam four decades ago, were still unable to cope up financially. “They had given lands in 1971 and they are still working as daily wagers. Amaravati will also take at least 50 years to take shape. So, what will the farmers do after giving their lands away?” he questioned.
He told the farmers to conduct ‘Grama Sabhas’ and pass resolution against the Land Acquisition Act. After Pawan Kalyan concluded his interaction with the capital region villagers, a few farmers from Tadepalli and Undavalli staged a protest claiming that some people with vested interests are misleading him.
Later in the evening, the Jana Sena president, at a party programme in Vijayawada, flayed the TDP and the YSRC for resorting to vote bank politics. He said that YS Jaganmohan Reddy was misusing the opportunity the people had given him.