The CPI has asked Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to get his facts right on whether States with Special Category Status developed or not.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, CPI national secretary K. Narayana said that it was surprising that the Union Minister was asserting that there had been no development in the 11 States that were enjoying the SCS.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu was even comparing the SCS to goat wattles to say that it was of no use.
“If the SCS was goat wattles, why did he favour it when he was in the Opposition?” he asked
“Is Mr. Venkaiah Naidu ready for a tour of the 11 States to assess the ground reality?” he asked.
He charged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Mr. Venkaiah Naidu with deceiving the people on the issue.
While Mr. Venkaiah Naidu claimed that the special package was to the tune of Rs. 2.25 lakh crore, the Chief Minister said that it was about Rs. 70,000 crore. The people would teach a fitting lesson to them, he added.
The BJP leaders had been claiming that the NDA government was corruption-free. The sops doled out to corporate bigwigs were enough to prove the level of corruption in the government, he said.
Praja ballot
CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna said that the CPI was conducting ‘praja ballot’ to elicit the public mood on the SCS.
But Mr. Venkaiah Naidu was ridiculing that the elections would be in 2019. If the BJP leaders were so confident on the SCS, let them resign and contest again.
Even if one MLA or one MP out of four MLAs and two MPs in the State win, the CPI would not raise the issue again, he said.
Indo-Pak ties
On Indo-Pak ties, Mr. Narayana asked the NDA government to make conscious efforts to isolate Pakistan in the global community.
“Words will not suffice. The government has to come out with definite plans and policies,” he said.
