: Recalling the promises made in BJP State unit’s manifesto for Andhra Pradesh, former minister Konathala Ramakrishna sought Rs.15,000-crore financial package for North Andhra, special category status (SCS) for the new State and tax incentives.
In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said the election manifesto assured 10 years of special status, tax incentives to Andhra Pradesh to attract industries, special financial package for North Andhra and Rayalaseema on a par with the Bundelkhand and Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi packages. It also promised that the revenue deficit of the State would be borne by the Centre.
The memorandum is the first public statement of Mr. Ramakrishna, who at one point of time was tipped to join the TDP, after a long time.
The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee that went into the issue of bifurcation, observed that North Andhra and Rayalaseema are backward regions of the State, Mr. Ramakrishna, a former MP, said.
Srikakulam and Vizianagaram stood last and last but one in GDP among 13 districts, he pointed out.
“For the first time in the history of the country, a State lost its capital to the region that wanted a separate State,” Mr. Ramakrishna pointed out.
Categorically stating that the financial package in addition to the SCS , he said the status would put the State on the path of rapid development creating growth engines and contributing employment.
Mr. Ramakrishna’s letter comes ahead of a Private Member’s Bill on SCS. He reminded the “large-hearted” Prime Minister who had announced a massive package of Rs.1.65 lakh crore for Bihar during elections without any section seeking it and hoped that a promise made in Parliament would be kept.
