Film stars can only sing and dance: Mayawati

Hyderabad: Launching the Bahujan Samaj Party's foray into Andhra Pradesh politics, its leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Sunday made it clear that there was no place for film stars in her BSP.

Addressing a well-attended public meeting at the Nizam College grounds here, she urged people not to fall to the spell cast by film actors. 'The film actors can't serve the society. They can only dance and sing,' she said amid applause by the crowd.

Mayawati said the BSP was against admitting film personalities into the party in Uttar Pradesh and all other states, and asked party leaders in Andhra Pradesh not to make any attempt in this regard.

'BSP has no place for film actors. This is against our policy,' she said.

The BSP leader's comments are significant in view of the speculations that Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi could join the BSP or the party could invite him.

The clarification also came amid reports that Chiranjeevi's younger brother Pavan Kalyan, himself an actor, was keen to join the BSP. The party's state leaders had claimed a few days ago that Pavan Kalyan held talks with them.

Speculations were doing round since Sunday morning that Mayawati could call on Chiranjeevi to offer condolences after the death of his father. No such meeting took place and the BSP leader set the record straight at the public meeting.

Chiranjeevi, who is also engaged in some social activities, has a huge fan following in the state and his aides recently hinted that he would soon launch a political party.

During her hour-long speech, Mayawati repeatedly urged weaker sections of this southern state to replicate the Uttar Pradesh formula to gain political power in the state and at the centre to improve their socio-economic conditions and help BSP create a casteless society.

She promised to give separate statehood to Telangana region if the BSP formed government in New Delhi. The public meeting saw parliamentarian from Medak A. Narendra merging his Telangana Rashtra Samiti (Narendra) with the BSP.

Mayawati appealed to dalits, minorities and poor among upper castes to reject the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), their allies and some regional parties, and said these parties were responsible for exploiting them since the independence.

'You (weaker sections) are an overwhelming majority but the Congress, BJP and their allies which ruled the country and the states during the last 60 years followed a policy of divide and rule. They divided you all these years and made you feel that you are in minority,' she said.