Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Sep 20 (IANS) In his first public appearance after launching the Praja Rajyam last month, Telugu superstar-turned-politician Chiranjeevi Saturday met weavers and their families in an Andhra Pradesh district and promised to solve their problems if his party was voted to power.His surprise visit to the handloom weaving centre in Sircilla town in Karimnagar was significant as it has witnessed a spate of suicides by weavers during last few years. As many as 400 weavers committed suicide in the town during last one decade.

Chiranjeevi described as heart-rending the plight of weavers and said paying compensation to their families was not a solution to their problems. He promised to ensure that weavers get the work to feed their families.

“Gandhiji had once said that handloom weaving will usher in a revolution but today it is unfortunate that weavers are forced to end their lives,” he said adding that Sircilla had become synonymous with suicides.

The actor promised that if voted to power his party would ensure that weavers from Sircilla don’t have to migrate to other states and other countries for jobs.

“We will nominate one among you as your candidate in the next elections,” he said and promised to field a candidate belonging to backward classes in the next year’s elections.

Chiranjeevi had a dig at the ruling Congress when he said the public representatives had failed to raise problem of weavers in the legislative bodies.

He advised weavers to be brave in facing the situation and said committing suicide was not a solution. “The day is not far away when you will get an opportunity to bring a change in your lives,” he said amid loud cheers from the weavers and their families.

Chiranjeevi’s visit was kept under wraps with the party not even informing the media. However, a large number of his fans gathered when he arrived to interact with weavers.

Chiranjeevi, whose party is claiming to be an alternative to the ruling Congress party, choose Sircilla in backward Telangana region to make his public appearance. The visit was also significant in view of the demand by some parties for separate statehood to the region. The Praja Rajyam founder has already hinted that he would consider the demand for separate Telangana.

The actor’s visit to Sircilla came a few days before his state-wide ‘yatra’ or tour. He is likely to launch the much-awaited ‘yatra’ on Sep 26.