The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : BCs treated by major parties as vote-bank, says Naragoni

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Thursday, Feb 05, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

BCs treated by major parties as vote-bank, says Naragoni

Staff Reporter

Kakinada: Rajyadhikar Party president V.G.R. Naragoni, who recently quit Praja Rajyam party, on Wednesday said the Backward Classes were exploited as a vote bank by major parties which were never serious about fulfilling their assurances to allot the number of seats sought by BCs. The PRP too which strongly advocated social justice, did not heed the BCs’ plea to earmark at least 120 seats in the ensuing Assembly elections. A few leaders in the PRP barring its president K Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan and Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah, had proper understanding of the benefits that would have accrued by conceding the BCs’ demand, he observed.

Not right attitude

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Naragoni said he still had respect for Chiranjeevi as a good human being but he seemed to be complacent about the slew of desertions from the party. Mr. Chiranjeevi probably felt that interacting with the second rung leaders would lower his stature, which should not be the attitude in a democratic setup, especially in PRP which projected itself as a credible alternative to the ruling dispensation. First of all, PRP lacked the political maturity needed to throw the kind of challenge people expected it to Congress and TDP against the backdrop of emergence of alliances like the TDP-Left-TRS combine.

As regards empowerment of BCs, Mr. Naragoni said he had raised the issue of allotment of 120 plus seats to BCs in the PRP’s first manifesto committee meeting but it was interpreted as his personal agenda by some leaders from forward castes and wrongly construed as bridging rich-poor divide.

Mr. Naragoni predicted that no party in Andhra Pradesh would secure a clear majority.

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