Chiru witnesses a ‘different Sircilla’ this time around
Low turnout for Praja Rajyam chief’s second visit; releases party’s Sircilla declaration
Chiru to reveal stand on Telangana before end of tour
Crowds seen at Vemulawada, Korutla and Metpalli

MATTER OF FAITH: Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi offers prayers at Sri Vemulawada Rajeshwara Swamy devasthanams by garlanding an ox as part of ‘kode mokku’ on Thursday.
SIRCILLA (KARIMNAGAR DT):
Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi’s ‘Praja Ankita Yatra’ in the Telangana region started off on a dull note due to a poor turnout, but the response improved as his motorcade rolled on to other places in the district on Thursday.
Belying the party leaders’ expectations, there was lukewarm response in Sircilla in contrast to the huge public turnout during Chiranjeevi’s earlier visit on September 20 to console the bereaved families of powerloom weavers. This initially dampened the enthusiasm of the party leaders who had created a hype about Chiranjeevi’s four-day tour of Karimnagar district.
While he was originally scheduled to reach here at 8.30 a.m., calls from party managers about the lack of crowds near Gandhi Chowk made the PR president slow his convoy from Hyderabad, 140 km away. Local leaders pulled out all stops in arranging vehicles to ferry people to the busy junction. All this led to a delay of about three hours though it helped in a much better attendance at the Old Bus Stand as well as two meetings at Vemulawada and those at Korutla and Metpalli. The low turnout was attributed to the failure of the aspirants for the party ticket from Sircilla Assembly to mobilise people as Chiranjeevi had announced that he would field a member of the Backward Classes community from this segment.
The PR leader declared that he would declare his party’s stand on Telangana before completion of his eight-day tour of the region. He gave this assurance on being greeted with the slogans of ‘Jai Telangana’ by people, including cadres of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, who wanted him to reveal his party’s stand on separate statehood.
Chiranjeevi sought to strike an emotional chord with the people by saying he fixed the second leg of his tour in this area only to show how much he cared for the people in this backward region.
Releasing the party’s Sircilla declaration, he said that the PR after being elected to power would distribute Re. 1 extra on each metre of cloth produced on the powerloom, arrange for waiver of loans availed by the weavers and distribution of yarn and procurement of the accumulated stocks.
Weavers were, however, shocked when Chiranjeevi said that if elected to power, he would ensure seven to eight hours of free power supply to the powerlooms as the industry requires 24-hour power supply.
PRP sees no opposition in coastal areas
Party receiving good response in Telangana too, says K.S.R. Murthy
Probe sought into corruption charges levelled against Minister
Kakinada:
The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) is hopeful of making a clean sweep of all Assembly constituencies in coastal Andhra Pradesh and it does not anticipate even a semblance of a fight from the ruling party, not to mention the seemingly unending woes of the TDP.
The PRP would make its mark in Telangana and Rayalaseema regions as well with social justice as the main election plank, said its leader K.S.R. Murthy.
Sensitive issue
Addressing mediapersons here on Thursday, Mr. Murthy said the Congress lost credibility and the TDP was not in a position to emerge unscathed from its problems. The PRP, he said, was trying to drive home the message that it was prepared to do its best for people’s welfare with service as the sole motto.
The PRP was planning ways to put an end to hardships of SCs, STs and Backward Classes, which were deprived of their rights for a long time.
Asked whether the PRP would prefer creation of separate Telangana, Mr. Murthy said party president Chiranjeevi would make a statement as it was a sensitive issue on which the party could not afford to take a hasty decision. The PRP was getting a good response in this region also contrary to perception that film stars would not be able to sway the electorate here, he asserted.
Dharna plan
Mr. Murthy said the PRP would picket East Godavari district Collector’s Office in a week if the government did not institute an inquiry into the corruption charges levelled by Small Scale Industries Minister Gollapalli Surya Rao against his cabinet colleague J.C. Diwakar Reddy, by the Lok Ayukta or a retired judge of the Supreme Court or Andhra Pradesh High Court. He said it was not a private matter to be deliberated in party forums as the Minister was accused of being involved in swindling of public money.
Many MLAs favoured an inquiry by a sitting judge knowing fully well that it was the least possible thing the government could do to ferret out such stark facts.
There were few instances when an inquiry was done by a sitting judge in India except the ones like Srikrishna Commission, which probed the Mumbai riots.
“It is unfortunate that similar charges traded by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Assembly were never inquired into at the highest level,” Mr. Murthy added.