Chiranjeevi Cheated Voters: LSP

The Lok Satta Party (LSP) on Wednesday refuted former Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) President K Chiranjeevi's contention that people voted for the PRP out of personal affection towards him, and not as an alternative to the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

"Chiranjeevi's comments are an affront to the more than 70 lakhs people who voted for him in the 2009 general election," said Lok Satta Party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao, G Raja Reddy and V Vijayender Reddy.

Addressing media persons, the Lok Satta leaders said, "Chiranjeevi seemed to nurse the illusion of being a hero even in politics. But unlike in movies, voters are the real heroes in politics. In politics, politicians exist to serve people and not the other way round."

The Lok Satta leaders pointed out that Chiranjeevi had let down the people by throwing his agenda to the winds, merging his party with the Congress and pledging to abide by its decisions.

They said, "People believed that as a charismatic leader, Chiranjeevi would provide an alternative to the Congress and the TDP. Instead, Chiranjeevi seemed to view voters as mere flag bearers and voting machines who could be taken for a ride".

Srinivasa Rao, Raja Reddy and Vijayender Reddy said that deification of leaders was prevalent in some other traditional parties, too, and they regard politics as their private property.

In contrast to such parties, the Lok Satta believed in pursuing citizen-centric politics. People thirsting for new politics should embrace the Lok Satta Party, they said.

The Lok Satta leaders demanded that the Hindujas be asked to supply power from their proposed Visakhapatnam thermal power plant at NTPC rates as agreed to earlier, considering that the government had allocated them land at a concessional rate and facilitated coal linkages.

The Lok Satta leaders also questioned the government's rationale in encouraging establishment of plants to generate power 3 times more than the state needs, which would saddle the state with avoidable pollution.

Courtesy: INN