Politicial parties used minorities as vote bank: Chiru

Hyderabad, Mar 12 : Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi today sought to drive home the point that all political parties had used the minorities only as a vote bank and never really cared for their uplift. All these parties have been adopting only pseudo secularism roles, he said while addressing a meeting of Muslims in the old city here. "Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, during his tenure as an MP in 1990, had engineered communal riots in the old city of Hyderabad just to get then Chief Minister Marri Channa Reddy replaced," he alleged. Channa Reddy himself revealed this on the floor of the Assembly with tears in his eyes. As many as 400 innocent persons were killed in those riots, he told the gathering. He also said that the then Congress government at the Centre, led by P V Narshimha Rao, remained a mute spectator when the Babri Masjid was being demolished, he said. The TDP which supported the BJP-led NDA government had merely issued statements denouncing the post-Godhra riots in which 3,000 Muslims were killed, but failed to do anything else, Chiranjeevi charged. Chiranjeevi also announced the candidature of an electrician, Humayun, from the newly-created Jubilee Hills assembly constituency in the state capital.

"This shows our commitment for social justice. Humayun is a humble man who worked as a technician in the film industry," Chiranjeevi pointed out.

The Telugu superstar had already announced candidature of a tribal woman, Munemma, of Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district.

These were the only seats the PRP officially announced so far.

The PRP chief also reiterated that there was no question of his party aligning with the communal BJP. "We are totally secular. We shall remain unattached if required, but will never join hands with the BJP," he asserted.

Promising a Rs 1,000 crore fund for the welfare of Muslims, Chiranjeevi said free education would be provided to all children of the community while the proposed Rs 1.50 lakh incentive for girls would also be extended to Muslims if the PRP was elected to power.

Besides, pregnant Muslim women would also be given Rs 1,000 monthly for six months. Chiranjeevi said the PRP would fight in Parliament for providing four per cent reservation for Muslims in education and employment. Chiranjeevi recalled his student days when his family resided in a Muslim locality in Ongole town and how he used to wake up to the 'Azaan' (call for prayer) from an adjacent mosque. "I also learned some Urdu alphabets during those days," he said and tried to recite a few words. In what he called a pleasant surprise, Chiranjeevi met his childhood friend Karimullah after over 40 years and introduced him to the audience. PRP General Secretary Allu Aravind and local party leaders also were present at the meeting.