Dy CM Kalyan’s ‘evil eye’ remark draws heat from within & across state border—‘apologise to Telanganites’

As Telangana preps for panchayat polls, its leaders demand that the JSP chief withdraws his remark, with critics saying he’d 'lost his mental balance'. JSP says his words are being twisted.

File photo: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and JanaSena Party chief Pawan Kalyan | ANI

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan walked into a cross-state border controversy with a remark viewed by Telangana political leaders as accusing them and the people of their state of casting an “evil eye” on the lush greenery of Andhra’s Konaseema region.

During a visit last week to Razolu in Konaseema—the Godavari delta region known for its rice production and coconut groves—Kalyan told farmers that a deformity plaguing thousands of coconut trees, with their crowns falling off leaving just the trunks in place, was the result of “dishti” or evil eye.

“One reason for united Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation could be the Godavari region’s greenery too. The curse seems to have affected it. Telangana leaders were in awe of the region, saying it looks so beautiful with coconut trees, etc. But look at the trees today. They are hit by dishti (evil eye),” said the JanaSena Party (JSP) leader.

The remarks, which went viral on social media, reignited interstate rivalry and regional sentiments 11 years after the split of Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Telangana, which is heading for panchayat polls soon.

Kalyan’s comments have kicked off a political firestorm in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Several Telangana legislators and ministers have demanded that he “retract his imbalanced comments”. The opposition Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra asked if the JSP chief was a deputy CM holding portfolios like environment, forest science & technology, or an “occult practitioner”.

From Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders, to Congress legislators and ministers, many have slammed Kalyan’s comments as “immature” and “insensitive”.

Demand for apology

Congress MLC Balmoor Venkat said that Kalyan had “lost his mental balance”, demanding an “immediate apology to every Telanganite, or else there would be a situation where Kalyan would be chased out of Hyderabad and the state by the same youth, public who patronaged his films”.

“We won’t let his movies play here,” the former NSUI leader said Monday.

BRS leader Jagadish Reddy said a person in the deputy CM’s position should apply his mind while speaking publicly and have control over his tongue. “It’s people from Andhra who come to see Hyderabad, we don’t go there,” he told reporters at BRS party office.

Telangana minister for cinematography Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said Kalyan’s movies would not be allowed in the state if he did not apologise.

“We don’t know if it was inadvertent or intentional to hurt, disrespect the people here, but we are pained by his remarks. We Telanganites suffered injustice for 60 years, being part of the united AP. We were forced to drink fluoride-affected water (in the Nalgonda region, because of the lopsided priorities by then rulers),” Komatireddy told reporters Tuesday.

Some other Congress ministers, including Ponnam Prabhakar and TPCC chief Mahesh Goud, also asked the popular film star and politician to retract his remarks.

On Tuesday, senior YSRCP leader and former AP minister Perni Venkataramaiah, while speaking to the media at Tadepalli, asked if Kalyan was speaking as a “sorcerer”.

“Kalyan’s comments that Konaseema coconut trees were dying because of Telangana people’s evil eye were made in his capacity as a minister or was he talking as a sorcerer? Instead of talking nonsense, spreading superstition, as the deputy chief minister, he should get some experts from Kerala and find a cure for the disease affecting the trees,” said Perni.

With the party chief caught in a storm of attacks from across the state border and brickbats within Andhra Pradesh, the JSP released a two-line statement Tuesday evening, saying that Kalyan’s remarks had been twisted and misinterpreted.

“At a time when there is a cordial atmosphere between the two states, we appeal that the words be not misconstrued,” said the media release.

However, a senior JSP leader told ThePrint that Kalyan “should be cautious while making remarks publicly, or else, it can hand ammunition to detractors like in this case”.

“But the late response of Telangana Congress ministers and legislators to remarks made four to five days back appears to be with the Panchayat polls in their state in mind. It might be to stoke some regional sentiment again to gain electorally,” said the leader, requesting anonymity.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)