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‘Courtesy call’, says Kalyan after meeting Shah in Delhi
It was the first meeting of Kalyan with the Union home minister after he assumed charge as the deputy chief minister of the state on June 12
Jana Sena Party president and Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan met Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday and had a brief discussion about various issues pertaining to the state, including the latest political developments, people familiar with the matter said.
Pawan, who air-dashed to New Delhi in the afternoon soon after attending the state cabinet meeting at the secretariat in Amaravati, had a one-on-one meeting with Shah in the evening. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes.
“It was just a courtesy call,” was the crisp comment made by the deputy chief minister, when reporters questioned him about the purpose of his meeting with Shah, before he returned to Vijayawada.
“Thank you Hon Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji, for your support for the people of AP and their development,” Kalyan posted on X, soon after the meeting.
It was the first meeting of Kalyan with the Union home minister after he assumed charge as the deputy chief minister of the state on June 12. “He briefly explained about the initiative taken by him as a minister of panchayati raj and rural development, environment and forests,” a Jana Sena leader familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.
Kalyan also requested Shah to ensure release of central funds for the panchayati raj institutions and forest department. “He also told the Union home minister about the implementation of pre-election promises made by the NDA, apart from the prevailing political situation in the state,” the Jana Sena leader added.
However, the sudden decision of Kalyan to rush to Delhi to meet Shah raised many eyebrows in the political circles in the state, as it comes within a couple of days of him making stinging comments against his cabinet colleague and home minister Vangalapudi Anitha over the failure of law and order and rise in crimes in the state.
“Perhaps, Shah wanted to know from Kalyan what prompted him to make such strong comments and whether the law and order situation in the state was really so bad,” the party leader quoted above said.
Jana Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the alliance partners of the Telugu Desam Party, headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. It was Kalyan, who had taken the initiative in bringing the TDP and BJP together to form the alliance, which won 164 out of 175 seats in the last assembly elections in the state.
