Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said that he will exert pressure on the Union government to honour its commitments to Andhra Pradesh in compliance with the A.P Reorganisation Act (APRA). “We did not ask for bifurcation. It was done in a blatant manner. The Centre promised various things under APRA. We demand that everything be fulfilled,” he said during his speech at the May Day programme here on Sunday.
Responding to criticism that he soft-pedalled the issue of Special Category Status (SCS) and other promises thereof, Mr. Naidu said: “I have never pushed State interests aside. There was a time when the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee offered me Union Minister’s post, but I refused to take it up as I did not have any personal agenda. There is no change in my attitude. I will strive for justice,” he asserted, recollecting that SCS was promised for 10 years and senior leaders of the BJP vouched for it on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
The Chief Minister further said: “A.P has the lowest per capita income among the southern States. Besides, agricultural income is more in A.P. It is good for farmers, but the State does not get much. Urban population in A.P is 28 per cent, which is significantly lower than other States in the south. There are many other problems that cropped up after bifurcation, and unless the Centre delivers on its promises, we will have to struggle a lot,” he added.
‘High expectations’
Echoing the sentiments of Mr. Chandrababu Naidu on the SCS, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y.S. Chowdary said it was the right of Andhra Pradesh as it was the main promise the Union Government had made at the time of bifurcation.
Speaking to the media here, Mr. Chowdary said he had been making efforts for securing SCS, and that the State government was also seized of the matter.
“People are yearning for SCS. We hope the Central government will concede their demand,” he quipped, without dwelling into the timeframe.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Pratthipati Pulla Rao said in Guntur that the government would not sit with folded hands.
“The Union Government has given several promises, including the SCS. We will fight for them,” he observed.
The desperation among TDP leaders over the SCS was visible, but they are apparently guarded in their reactions to Union Minister of State for Home H.P. Chaudhary’s statement on the issue in the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Chaudhary reportedly stated that there was no need to give SCS to A.P. on the ground that other promises contained in the A.P Reorganization Act were being fulfilled, in reply to a question whether 14th Finance Commission recommended SCS for any State.
