Chiranjeevi Was Much Better Than Pawan Kalyan!

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

Usually, we find people observing that politicians are known for duplicity. Our own experience bears this out to a large extent. However, actor turned politician and the founder of Jana Sena seems to have become associated with duplicity even before he has made a mark for himself in politics. Pawan Kalyan‘s ambivalent stance has become the focus of social media and several videos exposing this have been doing the rounds.

Some of them highlight his opposition to Telangana, his sharp criticism of KCR at the time of the bifurcation of the state, and in contrast his lavish praise of the Telangana Chief Minister now. Videos exposing this ambivalence are doing the rounds on social media.

After Pawan Kalyan started his tour of Telangana, opposition leaders called him an actor who displayed his ignorance of the existing political situation and as someone who was lacking in maturity when it comes to politics.The question that now comes to mind is whether Pawan Kalyan continues to ‘act’ in his political life, as well.

In the past, Pawan Kalyan spoke of being inspired by the revolutionary spirit of Che Guevara. And now he talks of Kondagattu Anjaneyaswami and sentiment. How does one connect the dots in Pawan Kalyan’s political career? Sometime ago, Pawan spoke of the north south divide. Now he has named his party, Chalo re Chal giving it a Hindi name!

In 2014, Pawan announced that he had established a party and that he was going to be amidst the masses to raise some important questions. However, after that we have not seen Pawan Kalyan questioning the government on any aspect of governance. In fact he has been acting as if to suggest that people should not question the government.

Pawan was extremely critical of the Centre for granting statehood to Telangana. He had then said that he was so upset that he could not even eat. He criticised the current Telangana Chief Minister, KCR in the strongest of terms, back then, and had tried to capitalise on the prevailing sentiment in Andhra. In stark contrast, he now sings praises of KCR, describing him as a smart and efficient Chief Minister.

The same Pawan Kalyan had said that Chandrababu Naidu does not know anything except stabbing others in the back and is unfamiliar with the concept of serving the people. Later, he described Chandrababu Naidu as a a leader with experience and hence, he came forward to support him he said. Pawan Kalyan who said that he would take the AP government to task if it snatched agricultural lands from farmers or was unjust to them, did not so much as pay the slightest attention to the plight of suffering farmers whose lands were forcibly acquired by the TDP government. The actor turned politician did not express any opinion on the notes for votes scandal. The rather specious argument he now advances is that his statements could have rocked the stability of governments!

Pawan Kalyan who did not open his mouth on the question of defections in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana, is now showing his true colours, which is good in a way. If Pawan Kalyan had said that he would take on governments or that he would fight on behalf of the people, it is possible that some gullible people would have believed the actor. His supporters and admirers need not have any apprehensions on that count. Pawan Kalyan has made it clear that he would not question either KCR or Chandrababu Naidu. A political analyst expressed the opinion that Pawan Kalyan established his party to help other parties come to power. In reality, Pawan Kalyan can achieve very little in Telangana by touring the state, except flattering KCR.

The Jana Sena founder has announced that he would tour AP soon. However it appears he is more likely to support Chandrababu Naidu indirectly than question his governance. Pawan Kalyan has said that he has bid goodbye to movies. If he has been touring Telangana only to flatter KCR and proposes to do the same in AP to please Chandrababu Naidu, then his political actions will not cut any ice with the masses. A point worth mentioning here is the striking difference between Pawan Kalyan and his brother Chiranjeevi who established a party and attempted to run it in a style and manner which suited him. He went to the masses seeking their electoral support.

It was not Chiranjeevi’s objective to deceive gullible masses. He merged his fledgling party with the Congress and was roundly criticised for doing so. To be fair to Chiranjeevi, he acted with integrity in pursuing his political aspirations. He was not hypocritical in the way he went about accomplishing his political objectives.

In contrast, Pawan Kalyan has been a target of criticism on many fronts including his personal life. His political life seems to be lacking in integrity to those who looked at him hoping that he would pursue his mission with a greater degree of honesty. So far, the way he has gone about trying to achieve his political ends has been disappointing, to say the least. Is it proper on his part to use the the goodwill and popularity he enjoys among the masses to pursue his own political agenda? This is the question being raised by many people. At a time when there is all-round concern about the steep decline in values in our public life, Pawan Kalyan behaving the way he has been, in politics, is disappointing. And to think that the Jana Sena founder has not established a party with a firm footing, as yet!