Jana Sena Party president and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Saturday openly disagreed with remarks made by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary and state IT minister Nara Lokesh regarding references to regional divisions in the state.
Participating in the debate on the resolution moved in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly seeking statutory backing for Amaravati as the state capital, Pawan Kalyan expressed his disagreement while responding to Lokesh’s speech.
While speaking on the resolution, Lokesh had referred to the needs of different regions such as Uttarandhra and Rayalaseema.
Reacting to those comments during his own speech, Pawan Kalyan objected to the mention of regional distinctions and stressed the need to focus instead on the overall development of Andhra Pradesh.
The Deputy Chief Minister cautioned against framing issues in a way that could deepen internal divisions within the state.
“Such an approach will weaken Andhra Pradesh at a time when it needs a unified voice to secure its due from the Centre. Nobody can save the state if people start talking in terms of regions,” he said.
Taking exception to what he described as a “sub-divisions mindset,” Pawan Kalyan questioned the logic of viewing different parts of the state separately.
“Are Uttarandhra, Rayalaseema, and the Godavari districts not all part of Andhra? Do we not all speak Telugu?” he asked, arguing that continued internal segmentation would weaken the state’s collective strength.
He warned that unless political leaders projected Andhra Pradesh as “one land, one state, one language, and one people,” the state’s bargaining power would diminish.
“If we continue to divide ourselves, our weakness will become others’ strength,” he said.
Pawan Kalyan further said that he had never viewed Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as separate in an emotional sense and had always believed in the idea of a larger Telugu identity.
He said he had extended support to N Chandrababu Naidu in 2014 out of respect for Andhra Pradesh, and reiterated that the Jana Sena Party had consistently maintained its stand in favour of Amaravati as the capital.