My commitment is to people: Chiru

Matinee idol Chiranjeevi is a voluble person by nature but uncommunicative in elaborating his philosophy and agenda of his party, the Praja Rajyam. Emerging from the shell, he bared his mind in an hour-long interview to The Hindu in the board room of his corporate-style office in Jubilee Hills here.

He spoke with passion of his mission to bridge the rich-poor divide, organisational issues, his caste, political alliances and the way forward. His mantra for Telangana and other thorny issues is to go to the masses ‘to feel and get charged’ before declaring his stand. Excerpts:

Q: When will you announce your agenda? You are being criticised for dilly-dallying.

A: There is a process for translating my thoughts into an ‘implementable agenda’. Vested interests are impatient about the delay but people are not. A feature film requires months of script writing, shooting and post-production whereas this is a lifetime picture. NTR did his homework in Madras before announcing his political agenda.

Right now, I can only voice my concerns about the widening rich-poor gap. I respect the present welfare and development schemes but I am more worried about reaching the benefits to the last man, which is not happening now in education, health and housing.

A scheme like Arogyasri is of limited utility as it does not help tribals in Adilabad and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh who are dying of viral fevers. Likewise, Government schools are being shut down on the pretext of poor enrolment. I will not detail these issues now, not because I don’t have answers.

Q: How different is your economic model from that of the Congress, the TDP or the Left?

A: I will not do different things but only the same things differently as the benefits of Government programmes should reach the grassroot level. Corruption is the biggest problem as it is rampant. I will not claim that I will eradicate it. I will only control it, starting from the top.

Q: The Left is not averse to aligning with you but they know little about your ideology.

A: I am not going to align with anyone right now. It is premature. Let me hit the road first. I know my strengths. We will align on the basis of mutual compatibility.

Q: How do you expect to fight the Congress and the Telugu Desam without a party network.

A: Everything cannot be put in place overnight. I already have a network of fans and I only have to streamline the organisation. My party will evolve in a couple of months.

Q: The Praja Rajyam has been dubbed as ‘party of migrants’ and criticised for admitting factionists and persons facing corruption charges.

A: I cannot turn away people. Many have joined because they were feeling uncomfortable in their parties. I will consider quality and freshness while entrusting organisational responsibilities. The charges against those whom you are referring to have not been proved. I too have been accused of kidnapping a girl. Those with faction background see the Praja Rajyam as a platform to break away from the past.

Q: Praja Rajyam is being associated with a particular caste. What do you have to say?

A: This is to be expected. I naturally belong to the caste of my parents and I can’t help it. Although many were sceptical about my prospects in the film industry, I made it to the top because I was caste-neutral. Nobody can confine me to a particular caste, although newspapers are trying to do so. I realise this is more pronounced in East and West Godavari but people of all castes are confident that I can render social justice.

Q: Your party is seen as being strong only in coastal Andhra.

A: No, we are gaining strength in all the regions. It is like a volcano ready to erupt in Telangana and Rayalaseema. The TRS president himself admitted that my stand on Telgangana is a step ahead of the others. But, I will go to the people to know how many want a separate State and what else they want.

Q: How many seats do you expect to win in the Assembly elections?

A: I am confident of winning a majority of the (294) seats.