‘My focus is on a skill census and revival of democratic systems in A.P.’
People have lost their faith in the YSR Congress Party; there is a need to strengthen institutions in the State and empower the youth by honing their skills, says Jana Sena Party president, promising that the BJP-TDP-JSP alliance will bring about change M
skill census, developing the movie industry ecosystem, strengthening democratic systems and shaping Pithapuram as a spiritual hub are some of the plans for Andhra Pradesh envisaged by Pawan Kalyan, president of the Jana Sena Party, which is in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP. He says the people of the State are scared of the present government and its policies. Edited excerpts:
APost your marathon tours along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu and others, what are your thoughts on the public mood?
When the YSR Congress Party regime began and the promises were made, people really believed Jagan Mohan Reddy and thought this guy would do something, taking his father as a touchstone. But reality turned out dierent and even the hardcore followers of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy have become mute.
You were very keen on the BJP-TDP-JSP alliance from the beginning. What’s the motive and what’s the value addition you expected out of it?
I grew up in Chennai. During my Chennai days, I came across an article which dealt with M.G. Ramachandran, Indira Gandhi and the issue of Krishna water for Tamil Nadu. I remembered one line and that is... for a State to prosper, Centre’s cooperation is very crucial. In a federal structure, Centre’s support to States is very important.
When it comes to the BJP, more importantly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it’s a special connect. When the repeated terrorist attacks happened in dierent parts of the country, my generation and the next generation wanted a strong and ideal leader who could motivate, instil condence and take the country to such a strong pedestal that the anti-social elements and terrorists would be scared of touching Indian integrity. And I saw such a strong leader in Mr. Modi and that’s the reason why I aligned with him in 2014. Now we continue sailing with the BJP, along with the TDP. Mr. Modi understands the need of the hour. We need a person of such traits for the alliance for the good of the country and the State.
What are the Jana Sena Party’s promises? What kind of changes do you want to bring in?
We need to restore and strengthen the democratic systems. In A.P., successive governments, except the TDP, have successfully killed the systems. For instance, during Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime, recall how many IAS o§cers went to jail. I went against the TDP government in a couple of instances but there was no vendetta, it was issuebased. Now in A.P., entire democratic institutions are failing. My primary motto is to strengthen democracy by strengthening the institutions. Individuals build institutions and institutions build individuals.
Secondly, we all think of demographic dividends. But if you look at the youth in A.P., most of them are clueless about the resources to empower them. Even I suered from a lack of guidance in my youth. I was clueless till I was 20 years old and was a late learner. Personally, I feel we have a responsibility to strengthen youth through the right education, right skills, right hobbies etc. For that, I propose the concept of ‘Skill Census’.
There is no skill identication process and career guidance in the present set-up. We need to groom youth with diversied skill sets.
What’s your take on building an ecosystem for the lm industry?
I think we should denitely create an ecosystem for the movie industry here. There should be less interference in the economic affairs of the industry and more governance. What we have now is maximum interference and maximum violence in A.P.
We need to have a single window system for all the approvals and permissions. You have to create enough infrastructure.
Coming to Pithapuram, the constituency you are contesting from, how do you perceive people’s support and the ght from the YSR Congress Party candidate?
I’m thankful that the people are giving me a great opportunity to serve them. Coming to the Opposition, I believe, we need to have it in the democratic set-up. But the present government has not paid attention to development. The government has opened doors for the free movement of ganja and people are scared.
Pithapuram should be a religious and spiritual hub as well as a developmental cluster. Enough avenues need to be developed for employment opportunities for the youth. The coastal belt can be developed till Kakinada to make it a tourist destination. Several parts of Pithapuram are undeveloped. Connecting all the temples with su§cient infrastructure can make it a spiritual hub. (Full interview at bit.ly/pawankalyanonpolls)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Narendra Modi will not become the Prime Minister again after the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
“Take it in writing, Narendra Modi will not become the Prime Minister of India,” said Mr. Gandhi, addressing a joint rally of the INDIA bloc in support of Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav in Kannauj.
Mr. Gandhi said the BJP will suer its biggest loss of seats from Uttar Pradesh because the people of the State have decided to vote in favour of the Opposition alliance. “An INDIA bloc storm is arriving in U.P., people have made up their mind to bring change and unseat the BJP,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said the country is witnessing an ideological battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJPRSS. “On one hand you have the INDIA bloc, aiming to save the democratic and constitutional values of our republic, while on the other side, the BJP-RSS is trying to dismantle its foundational ideas,” said Mr. Gandhi.
Speaking at a public event in Lucknow, Mr. Gandhi, who is contesting from Rae Bareli, invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a debate. “I am ready to debate with Narendra Modi anywhere, but he will not debate with me,” he said.