Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan lashed out against the Centre on Wednesday, for ignoring Andhra Pradesh’s demands in the Union Budget 2018-19, and accused the BJP of going back on its promises made during bifurcation.
Kalyan had campaigned for the TDP-BJP alliance in the 2014 elections but distanced himself from both the parties last year.
Addressing reporters in Hyderabad, Pawan also threatened to form a larger political platform to fight against injustice meted out to the state.
He said that his Jana Sena Party was late in responding to the Budget, as he wanted to study and understand it first.
This development came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Parliament, where he blamed the Congress for ‘hastily’ dividing Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking at the Jana Sena Party office, Pawan said, "Both, the Congress and BJP have divided the state."
Pointing at neglect of the state, he said that the BJP had gone back on the promises that were made in the Parliament.
Pawan also said his party would support the state-wide shutdown called by Left parties, as long as it was observed peacefully and without causing inconvenience to people.
JAC for the interests of Andhra
Pawan also said that the movement to get justice for Andhra Pradesh should be on the lines of the movement for a separate Telangana state. The Jana Sena party chief remarked that two placards and four slogans will of no use.
He felt that it is necessary to form a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to address the injustice, along with like-minded intellectuals such as ex-MP Undavalli Arun Kumar and Jayaprakash Narayan from the Lok Satta Party.
"I, at my individual level, will meet them and discuss a further plan of action," Pawan said.
When reporters asked him if he would withdraw his support to the NDA in 2019, he said, "It's not about supporting or withdrawing in 2019 but about the state and people’s interests."
"Time will decide the future. Though I supported them, my party is not part of their governments,” Pawan remarked.