RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Deputy Chief Minister (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development) Pawan Kalyan on Saturday issued a stern warning to casteist and divisive forces, stating that national icons should never be viewed through the narrow prism of caste as it would ultimately destroy the fabric of society.
He also gave a strong warning to the YSRCP, accusing it of attempting to divide the State on caste lines, and intimidating government officials and the general public.
Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the Amarajeevi Jaladhara project at Peravali on Saturday, he remarked that strict administrative action like the tough approach adopted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath might be necessary to curb divisive forces that threaten social harmony in the State.
He said national leaders such as Potti Sriramulu who sacrificed his life for the formation of Andhra Pradesh State, BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, and Dokka Seethamma, who satiated the hunger of poor, belong to the entire nation, and not to any single caste or community. It was unfortunate that some YSRCP leaders attempted to divide the society on caste lines by politicising an incident in Pithapuram Assembly constituency, the Jana Sena chief said.
Asserting that it would be easy for those in power to act sternly using the policy machinery, he stressed that the NDA government believes in democracy and constitutional principles.
Govt cannot be intimidated, says Dy CM
“The government has the power and the police machinery to identify anti-social elements, and put them behind bars. It could not be intimidated by their utterances or threats,” he averred.
At the same time, he said the coalition government would act strictly within the framework of the constitution and the rule of law against such divisive forces.
“I will not hesitate to take action against the YSRCP in accordance with law for resorting to false propaganda against the NDA government,” he asserted.
Pawan Kalyan directed that the project executing agencies complete Amarajeevi Jaladhara taken up at a cost of Rs 3,050 crore to provide safe drinking water to nearly 1.2 crore people in the erstwhile twin Godavari districts by 2027, in a transparent manner.
Union Minister B Srinivasa Varma, State Minister K Durgesh, Dy Assembly Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, MLAs B Srinivas, B Nayakar and A Radhakrishna, and senior officials were present.