Pawan Kalyan joins 'allow protests at Dharna Chowk' chorus
Synopsis
It is a protest demanding the Telangana government to allow protests at 'Dharna Chowk' "Dharna Chowk has been a great venue for people to voice their protest for decades Recently, TRS govt banned protests at the chowk, saying they caused inconvenience to residents
"Dharna Chowk has been a great venue for people to voice their protest for decades. Now, it is no longer available for expressing their anguish and sufferings. Keeping it away (shifting the site) is not democratically correct," he told reporters. Dharna Chowk, like Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, is a democratic space to voice anguish, said the film star-cum- politician.
He announced Janasena Party's support to the 'Reclaim Dharna Chowk' protest proposed to be organised by the Left parties and people's organisations on May 15. Kalyan said CPI(M)'s Telangana state secretary T Veerabhadram, who met him during the day, and others sought his support on the issue.
Congress, BJP, TDP and the Left parties, besides several people's organisations, have been demanding that the government allow protests at the 'Dharna Chowk', a popular place for holding demonstrations in the city.
A couple of months ago, the TRS government disallowed protests at the chowk, saying they caused inconvenience to residents of the locality, and suggested an alternative site. The matter had also gone to courts.
Kalyan, however, said he is ready to work with any party that raises people's issues. A top ranking Telugu hero, Kalyan formed the Janasena Party ahead of 2014 elections.
His campaign in support of the TDP-BJP combine was said to be one of the major reasons for the electoral success of the alliance in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.