Bolisetty steps back from JSP duties over environment pollution case

Bolisetty Satyanarayana, General Secretary (Environment) of the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and National Convenor of Jal Biradari, has announced his decision to withdraw from his responsibilities within the JSP and focus full-time to the cause of environment protection, for which he has been fighting for over five years.

The decision is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the final resolution of the environmental pollution case, which is currently before the Andhra Pradesh High Court (PIL 248/2020), Mr. Satyanarayana said in a statement, on Tuesday (Feb 3). He has also written a letter to JSP president K. Pawan Kalyan in this regard.

Mr. Satyanarayana is a petitioner in the Public Interest Litigation WP (PIL) 248/2020, that addresses critical pollution levels in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. With the JSP now a key partner in the NDA government and the JSP president Pawan Kalyan, serving as the Minister for Environment, the JSP general secretary (environment) announced his decision to prevent conflict of interest.

“My commitment to the party’s ideologies and our president’s vision for upholding the Constitutional values and Sanathana Dharma is absolute,” stated Mr. Satyanarayana.

“However, as the petitioner in a case where the Government of Andhra Pradesh is a Respondent, I believe it is my moral and ethical duty to maintain a clear distance from the ruling administration. To ensure that the judicial process remains untainted and that the cause of environmental justice is not compromised by political technicalities, I have appealed to the party president to relieve me of my party duties temporarily,” he said.

The PIL (248/2020) focuses on untreated sewage, pharmaceutical effluents/industrial pollution and is currently in the trial phase. Mr. Satyanarayana clarified that this is a “principled recusal” and not a departure from the party’s mission. He expressed full confidence in the current government’s and Mr. Pawan Kalyan’s ability to bring about positive environmental change and intends to return to his party role once his legal obligations as a petitioner are fulfilled.

He added that the move would help him to interact with the public and media on core constitutional issues such as environmental destruction, human rights violations, and the indiscriminate disposal of public assets.