Why Pawan Kalyan is in awe of Yogi Adityanath

Actor-turned-politician, and now Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister, Pawan Kalyan is an ardent admirer of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his strong measures against heinous crime. Endorsing it and exhorting Andhra home minister Anita Vangalapudi to be more proactive, Kalyan has declared that should she not buck up and check the spurt in gender crimes, he would take over the home portfolio.
Addressing a meeting in his Pithapuram assembly constituency on November 4, Kalyan, who heads the Jana Sena Party (JSP), warned Vangalapudi about the rising trend of crimes against women and sought quick and effective solutions.
“The spike in gender crimes in the state is the legacy of the previous Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government,” he said, explaining: “Even when the Nirbhaya incident happened (in 2012), the country was angry and demanded death for the perpetrators. The public celebrates encounters or hangings of such perpetrators as they want justice. However, it is also important to step away from the punishment and address the root causes. That’s why I’ve vehemently demanded robust law and order in the state since coming to power.”
Kalyan noted that even this demand was met with challenges. “Following the YSRCP regime, even the police have stopped taking law enforcement seriously. When people make rape threats online, they (police) defend it as their right to free expression. When they have to take action against rapists, they become hesitant because of caste and religion. This creates a complacent setting that promotes such heinous crimes,” he said.
Kalyan favours putting down crimes against women with an iron fist. “Why is it that the safety of women here is far worse than in places like Dubai and Singapore?” he questioned, attributing the safe environment overseas to strong law enforcement.
“It’s not like I can’t take over the home ministry,” he said. “For the kind of brazen criminals in the state today, we need Yogi Adityanath’s approach to curb crimes.”
Analysts contend Kalyan has flouted coalition dharma by pulling up the home minister, who is from the Telugu Desam Party, the principal partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Andhra. They feel he has embarrassed chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu by suggesting he will wrest the home portfolio. Moreover, highlighting Vangalapudi’s alleged inept handling of law and order is grist for the rival YSRCP mill.
Within hours, Kalyan’s comments went viral, prompting YSRCP women’s wing president and MLC Varudu Kalyani to voice concern about gender crimes becoming a daily occurrence in the state and alleging the failure of the Naidu administration in ensuring public safety. She also slammed Kalyan, asking what concrete measures he had implemented to address the increasing injustice faced by women.
Kalyani cited specific examples and called for the immediate reactivation of the Disha app and full implementation of the Disha Act initiatives to enhance safety protocols.
However, Kalyan’s is a position strength as the JSP won all the 21 legislative assembly seats it contested in the Andhra elections this year. Kalyan is a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. In turn, Modi has described Kalyan as not ‘Pawan’ (wind) but ‘Aandhi’ (storm). Their bonhomie has evolved over the past decade and Kalyan has emerged as the poster-boy of the saffron right-wing.
In the latest projection of himself as a Hindutva icon, Kalyan, on November 2, announced the launch of the Narasimha Varahi Ghanam (brigade) as a wing of his JSP to protect Sanatana dharma. This comes in the wake of his ‘Prayaschitta Deeksha’, following allegations of impurity of the ghee used in making the Tirumala laddoo, and the Varahi declaration, where he called for unity between Hindus and the protection of their faith.
The Narasimha Varahi Ghanam is to serve as a bulwark against perceived threats to Sanatana dharma in Andhra and Telangana. “We are a land that respects all religions. Yet, Sanatana dharma and its deities are disrespected,” Kalyan said at the launch. Citing the need to learn from the “discipline of worship in Islam”, he said that lack of discipline in worship will lead to the downfall of Hindus.
Earlier, Kalyan had proposed a national law to protect Sanatana dharma as well as certification for the ingredients used in temples to ensure their purity. These, analysts maintain, are elements in the broader strategy to enable the saffron camp to expand its footprint in the two Telugu-speaking states.
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