Hyderabad: Tollywood actor Rahul Ramakrishna has stirred a controversy by questioning Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan on the implementation of various acts concerning tribal and forest rights, as well as the conduct of gram sabhas in the state.
Without naming Pawan Kalyan, Rahul wrote in a post on X on Sunday evening, June 7, questioning the Deputy CM. “Apart from your usual bravado, have you implemented section 4.1(b) of proactive disclosure of the Right To Information Act in every department of every position you hold sir? I’m asking because I’m you’re fan and you need to constantly answer our questions,” he posted.
He also sought to know the steps taken for the implementation of Panchayat Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) and the 1/70 Act, and on the conduct of gram sabhas in the tribal villages.
Rahul’s reference to PESA and 1/70 was seen as questioning the larger issues concerning the establishment of Google AI Data Centre in Visakhapatnam, the largest in Asia, for which AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had laid the foundation stone on April 28.
While the PESA deals with seeking the approval from the tribals through gram sabhas before taking any developmental decision that would affect the tribals, 1/70 Act ensures that the tribals don’t lose their lands by way of transfer of lands in the agency areas.
However, the situation on the ground, whether in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, has been concerning with regard to the implementation of these Acts.
Rahul’s post was posed at the larger issue concerning the issues being faced by the tribals living in the agency areas of AP.
His pointed questions referred to Pawan Kalyan, who, apart from being the Deputy Chief Minister, also holds the Forest and Panchayat Raj portfolios.
He made another post shortly, saying “Jai Telangana,” with a heart emoji.
He didn’t stop there. Rahul made another post, making it clear that “Asking questions doesn’t make me an anti national.”
Though Rahul’s posts were seen as red flags questioning the operations in the AP administration concerning Pawan Kalyan’s departments, the posts apparently drew criticism from Jana Sainiks.
While some questioned his Jai Telangana stand while questioning the AP government, others sought to know whether he made similar appeals to Telangana Panchayat Raj Minister Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka on the conduct of gram sabhas in his home state.
“Correct anna, plz ask congress government Abt this section 4.1(b) in Telangana, prove guts in ur buttocks,” a user commented.
“Questioning the AP Deputy CM and then saying ‘Jai Telangana’ looks suspicious. Some people seem to be using PSPK’s popularity to grab attention and become famous. Genuine debate is different from seeking publicity,” another user commented.
There were also some funny tweets.
“Even in Telangana Potthu (alliance) laga dengey. Even after fencing Kodi Cheruvu they are not letting me live happily,” a user posted, with Tollywood comedian Brahmanandam’s GIF image.
While Rahul Ramakrishna’s posts crossed 1 lakh views, with thousands of comments, with some against his post, and some supporting him, he finally called it a day in his latest post, stating, “If it’s causing a problem because of me, then I’m leaving, mama.”
Pawan Kalyan hasn’t responded to Rahul’s posts yet, but the latter got what he wanted, his point going across to over a lakh people and more on social media.
Rahul Ramakrishna is known for his outspoken views on forest and tribal rights during the “Save Nallamala Movement” against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) attempts to extract uranium from the Nallamala forests spanning the two Telugu states that was stalled after massive protests in 2018 and 2019, or on the present issues.
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