Chiranjeevi praises KCR for TRS manifesto in GHMC polls, draws flak from BJP supporters
Chiranjeevi’s younger brother Pawan Kalyan who heads the Jana Sena Party has extended support to Bharatiya Janata Party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.
Popular Telugu actor and former Union minister K Chiranjeevi on Tuesday praised Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, also known as KCR, for announcing several sops for the film industry in his party’s manifesto for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections.
Chiranjeevi’s appreciation for KCR comes within three days of days his younger brother Pawan Kalyan, also a popular actor and president of Jana Sena Party, extending support to Bharatiya Janata Party in the GHMC elections.
Both the TRS and BJP are involved in a bitter fight for capturing power in the GHMC.
Chiranjeevi, along with other functionaries of the Telugu film industry, met the chief minister on Sunday and discussed the problems faced by the industry, including producers and distributors, due to Coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, KCR announced in the party manifesto that the TRS government would reimburse the State GST for small budget films (up to ₹10 crore), allow theatres to increase the number of shows per day and make ticket pricing flexible following the losses incurred by the industry that has been having a dry run in the past eight months.
Appreciating KCR’s gesture, Chiranjeevi tweeted: “Heartfelt thanks to Hon’ble CM Shri #KCR garu for the relief measures to the film industry. Trust that these compassionate measures surely will go a long way in reviving the industry badly hit by the pandemic and put it back on the path to progress. #TelanganaCMO.”
Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan who is also a popular actor joined his father in thanking the Telangana government for the relief measures which will go a long way towards restoration of normalcy in Telugu film industry.
Chiranjeevi’s appreciation for KCR drew flak from fans of his younger brother Pawan Kalyan and the BJP ranks.
“This is not the time to support KCR when elections are being held, brother. If possible, you have to support your brother or keep silent. But please don’t indulge in cheap politics,” a supporter of Pawan Kalyan commented on Chiranjeevi’s tweet.
Another fan of Pawan commented that it was enough if Chiranjeevi felt happy with the sops for film industry. “Please think about common man, who suffered most. You should bother about the problems being faced by common people, not just film industry,” he said.
“It is okay if the government showers sops on people of film industry. But what about the lives of the people who watch the movies? It is because of their hard-earned money the film industry is surviving. But you forget your role in the once-in-five years elections,” another fan of Pawan Kalyan observed.
Chiranjeevi made an unsuccessful attempt in politics by floating Praja Rajyam Party in 2008 but was forced to merge it with the Congress in 2012. He became Rajya Sabha member and Union minister of state for tourism in Manmohan Singh cabinet. After the Congress party’s debacle in 2014 polls, Chiranjeevi quietly distanced himself from politics.