Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi has said that if his party came to power he wouldn’t mind making way for a Dalit chief minister if the popular demand was such. On Telangana statehood, Chiranjeevi offered a special package to develop the region. “If people wish for a Dalit chief minister, I will definitely obey their wish and remain as party president,” said the megastar-turned-politician in an exclusive interview to this newspaper at the PR headquarters, where for the first time he committed himself on the Telangana issue. “But it is for the people to decide.”

The megastar said that he would give more Assembly tickets to backward classes than the Congress and the TD. “My father may be OC but my mother is BC,” he said. “She is from Balija community in Nellore district. I swear I will work for the uplift of the downtrodden people.” Chiranjeevi said he saw the Telangana issue as a “two-dimensional” problem. One involved the self-respect of the people of the region and the other uneven development.

“So, we will deal this issue with utmost care,” he said. “We will bring a special package to develop Telangana on par with other regions. Alongside, we will thoroughly examine the separate statehood issue. If people of Telangana feel that separation is only the solution, we won’t put up any hurdles.” Chiranjeevi added that the party’s policies on issues like Telangana and categorisation of scheduled castes would be revealed only in the election manifesto of the 2009 polls.

He, however, was not ready to reveal the names of the intellectuals with whom he had been holding discussions to formulate policies on these issues. When asked why his party had not evoked much response in Telangana despite his sympathetic stance towards the region, Chiranjeevi retorted: “The criteria is not whether seasoned politicians from other parties have joined. So many people from Telangana pledged their support to Praja Rajyam. Hordes of doctors, lawyers and other professionals have joined. What more do you want?”

He also rebuffed the charge that he had been admitting tainted people despite making proclamations against corruption, and emphasised that there was no place for such persons in his party. When reminded of the factionist past of Mr Bhuma Nagi Reddy and the corruption allegations on the former IAS officer, Mr T. Chandrasekhar, Chiranjeevi said none of these charges had been proved. “We will not give Assembly tickets to corrupt babus, faction leaders and criminals if the charges against them are proved,” he said.

Chiranjeevi made light of the allegation that his party was dominated by his family. “If people accept them, my actor brothers may also take the political plunge in future as they also enjoy much popularity” he said. Regarding his producer brother-in-law, Mr Allu Aravind, the actor said that the former had been a facilitator between Praja Rajyam leaders and fans before the launch of the party. “Now his role is over,” said Chiranjeevi.