Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party president K. Pawan Kalyan faced flak for his reaction to the Telangana police's refusal to grant permission for a party meeting scheduled for June 2. The Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samithi both heavily came down on the film star-turned-politician for questioning if Telangana was someone’s “jagir” and implying that his party’s political activities were being curbed. Telangana parties have blasted him for making such “belittling comments” on Telangana Formation Day.
For the unversed, the Cyberabad police have declined a request by the JSP to hold a meeting on June 2. The police have cited JSP leaders for filing three cases against Prof. K. Nageshwar — a prominent Hyderabad-based political analyst — in Andhra Pradesh, stating that allowing the party to hold a meeting on Telangana Formation Day (June 2) could lead to law-and-order issues. The police also made it clear that these cases, combined with statements by certain political leaders in Andhra Pradesh, have hurt the sentiments of Telangana society and led to protests by various sections.
Pawan Kalyan did not accept the police response, asserting that his party would go to every nook and corner and contest the upcoming elections. His sarcastic tone and one-upmanship drew fire from both the Congress and the BRS. Congress ministers Komatireddy Venkata Reddy and Ponnam Prabhakar blasted the JSP chief for politicising Telangana Formation Day. BC Welfare Minister Prabhakar welcomed Pawan to contest from the state and questioned who had stopped him in Telangana. He also questioned when Pawan Kalyan had ever supported the Telangana cause, reminding him of his statement that he had not eaten for 11 days after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy questioned when Pawan Kalyan was ever stopped from carrying out his political activities in Telangana. He demanded an apology from the Deputy Chief Minister for allegedly projecting Telangana in a bad light. The minister warned that unless Pawan apologises for his remarks, his movies would face problems in Telangana.
The strongest publicly reported BRS response came from BRS leader Ramamurthy, who warned Pawan Kalyan against reopening old wounds related to the Telangana movement and the statehood issue. He argued that Telangana's aspirations and sacrifices should be respected and that leaders from Andhra Pradesh should avoid making statements that could reignite regional tensions. BRS leaders and supporters on social media also objected to Pawan's comments suggesting that some people were trying to deny him political space in Telangana. They maintained that Telangana was achieved after a long struggle and that any remarks perceived as belittling Telangana sentiment would face opposition.
Telangana political parties have been averse to any major advances by political leaders with an Andhra background. When the Congress contested the 2018 Assembly elections in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party, the BRS successfully appealed to Telangana sentiment by opposing the presence of TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in the election campaign. Indeed, the Congress–TDP alliance was considered a major factor in the BRS's return to power.
Pawan Kalyan, who never supported the Telangana statehood demand, conducting a press meet on the state formation day and declaring that he had every right to roam the state was seen as an insult by Telangana politicians. Despite becoming a separate state, Telangana has been mostly open to people from Andhra Pradesh, and there have been no legal restrictions on electoral participation by the JSP or any other party. However, at a political level, opposition to the JSP, the TDP, or any other party under the leadership of people from Andhra Pradesh has always existed. For instance, Y. S. Sharmila’s YSR Telangana Party was opposed solely because she was the daughter of Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the former Chief Minister of undivided AP who hailed from the Kadapa district of modern-day Andhra Pradesh.
On this occasion, both Congress and BRS leaders also recalled Pawan Kalyan’s seemingly anti-Telangana statements. He once commented that perhaps the "evil eye" of Telangana cast on the Godavari districts could have caused the deformation of coconut trees in the Konaseema region — a lush green region between the Godavari River and the Bay of Bengal known for its fertile lands. Many have wondered why Pawan Kalyan made such an out-of-place statement.
