The reply of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on implementation of the A.P. Reorganisation Act has dashed the hopes of one crore people of Uttarandhra, former Minister Konathala Ramakrishna has said.
In a statement issued here, he found fault with Mr Jaitley’s reply.
“Mr. Arun Jaitley accepting the responsibility of providing funds to Uttarandhra and Rayalaseema is no act of generosity. The funds are provided in the Act,” Mr. Ramakrishna said.
Further, the Minister did not give a shred of assurance on how the Centre would alleviate the two backward regions. There was no assurance on SCS to AP or fast-tracking the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project or railway zone for Visakhapatnam, he added.
“The Centre has given Rs. 50 crore to each of the three Uttarandhra districts and, according to the Finance Minister’s reply, at best it might continue,” Mr Konathala said pointing out that it costs Rs. 4 crore to lay one-km of road.
“We demand that the BJP-TDP explain how and in what manner backwardness of our region could be even remotely tackled. The people of Uttarandhra seriously warn the BJP and TDP governments not to treat them as beggars. They have played enough with our patience and we don’t expect them to stretch our limits,” he said.
“The manner in which we were dealt with in Rajya Sabha yesterday is highly provocative. This needs to be rectified immediately, without delay. Any delay, for any reason, would contribute greatly to the growing inter-regional disparities, which would force the people of Uttarandhra to take to the streets,” the former Minister said.
