Ponnam slams BJP for trying to have truck with Pawan Kalyan

Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Thursday alleged that the Telangana BJP was forming an alliance with Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, whom he accused of making derogatory and discriminatory remarks against Telangana.

Addressing a public meeting at Choppadandi, the Minister Ponnam said the BJP was approaching the people while aligning with leaders (Pawan Kalyan), who had “spewed venom” against Telangana. He further alleged that BJP leaders had neglected the State and failed to secure adequate funds from the Centre.

Referring to Pawan Kalyan’s earlier remarks suggesting that coconut trees in Andhra Pradesh were drying up due to the “evil eye” of Telangana, Ponnam Prabhakar said such comments were unacceptable.

“Despite this, when Pawan Kalyan visited Kondagattu, we welcomed him as the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. However, no one will tolerate insults to the people of Telangana or discriminatory statements against the formation of the State,” he said.

The Minister urged the people and activists of Telangana to reflect on the BJP’s alliance with leaders who had made such remarks. Appealing to voters ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for February 11, he called upon them to elect Congress candidates and support the Congress government.

Ponnam Prabhakar also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had made discriminatory remarks towards Telangana in the past, but BJP leaders in the State had failed to respond. He said that after the formation of the Praja Palana government, the Chief Minister and Cabinet ministers had collectively appealed to the Prime Minister to allocate funds for development programmes in the Union Budget.

“Despite repeated appeals, funds were not allocated in two consecutive Union budgets,” he alleged.