Film actor and President of Jana Sena Party Pawan Kalyan today lambasted the Telugu Desam Party on the issue of Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh, and firmly cautioned them "not to mortgage the self-respect of the people of the state" for their own personal benefits.
Taking a serious view of the TDP members
"missing" from the Rajya Sabha when the issue of SCS was debated recently, Kalyan tweeted that it was quite disheartening to see Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju maintaining a stoic silence and the TDP MPs being absent when the issue was being discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
"TDP does not have the right to compromise on the promised SCS as the people of AP had voted TDP and BJP to power trusting that they would ensure SCS to the state," he said.
He appreciated the relentless efforts of the YSR Congress Party in pursuing the matter at various levels. He also conveyed his wholehearted thanks Telangana MPs K Keshava Rao of TRS and Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar for their support for SCS to AP.
Pointing out that "we lose our moral high ground with the Centre when we mortgage our self-respect for personal benefits", Kalyan cautioned the TDP leaders not to compromise the future of the people of AP for their personal benefits.
"I too agree that we need to show restraint and be cautious while dealing with the Centre. But when repeated injustice is being meted out to us, where is the need for observing restraint or silence?" he asked.
He said that the TDP MPs seem to have forgotten the insults meted out to them and even getting beaten up by MPs from the North in Parliament during the state bifurcation issue.