Visakhapatnam,  Making good on his promise to come to support the ongoing agitation against the divestment of the Visakhpatnam Steel Plant, Telugu film star and Jana Sena Party founder Pawan Kalyan landed in the Andhra Pradesh port city on Sunday.

 

Declaring his party's support for the anti-privatisation movement, he participated in a public meeting organised near the steel plant gates at Koormannapalem.

Addressing the gathering, Pawan Kalyan recalled the sacrifices that people of Andhra Pradesh had made for getting the steel plant to the state. "Activists and students had fought for the project and 32 people lost their lives to police bullets in the agitation," he said.

The Jana Sena Party leader blamed the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh for not raising the matter in Parliament.

"My party has no representation in the Lok Sabha. The ruling party has 22 MPs in Parliament but they are silent. There's no point in blaming the Central government, if the state government is keeping quiet in this matter."

Pawan Kalyan demanded the state government convene an all-party meet to discuss the matter, failing which he would spell out his strategy for intensifying the agitation.

He questioned the ruling party on its contradictory stance at Delhi and in the state vis-a-vis the Central government. "The YSRCP supported the CAA and farm laws in Delhi, but opposes them in the state," he said.

Earlier in the day, after his arrival on Visakhapatnam, the Jana Sena Party chief led a massive rally from the airport to the meeting venue.