The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee has decided to conduct a “referendum” on the Special Category Status issue across the State through a people’s ballot.
The party has resolved to highlight people’s aspirations for the special status through the ballot, as the Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have “deceived” the people by going back on their promise of granting the coveted status. “We have decided to go for referendum through the people’s ballot which will be launched in Tirupati, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu have promised special status during their election campaign,” APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy said.
Mr. Reddy said the date for the people’s ballot would be decided soon, and the party had decided to mobilise public opinion from every nook and corner of the State. “Congress has taken it as a challenge as the two alliance partners are trying to paint those demanding special status as traitors,” he said exhorting the people to participate in the ballot in large numbers. Mr. Raghuveera Reddy was critical of the two parties for their failure in honouring the promises made to the people in the run up to the election. There was no truth in the claim of the two parties that the 14th Finance Commission had recommended against granting special status as the finance panel member Abhijit Sen had clarified that the commission had not made any such recommendation, he said.
He described the recent package announced to the State as “bogus” and asserted that there was nothing new in the latest announcement. The government had incorporated the assurances given in the Reorganisation Act as part of the package. “How can an announcement of development of national highways become special package when similar packages are announced for neighbouring Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra?” he asked.
The same was the case with the expansion plan of the HPCL, which was a corporate decision and had nothing to do with the assurances given to the State. “The TDP is indulging in match-fixing with the BJP by seeking Cabinet ratification for the package. Why did the Centre not grant special status to the State after the previous UPA Cabinet had passed a resolution and submitted it to the then Planning Commission?” he sought to know.
