: The YSR Congress has asserted that the party will continue its struggle to mount pressure on the Central government to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.
YSRC president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday said the bandh call given by the party in support of the demand for SCS evoked overwhelming response from the people with all sections participating in it. The government, however, tried to foil the bandh at the behest of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who was trying to dilute the demand.
“Naidu lacks sincerity”
“It is not just against the Centre, we are fighting against the TDP government which had been trying to water down the issue,” he said. The YSRC members continued their vociferous protests in Parliament, while the TDP members maintained silence on SCS after Union Minister Arun Jaitley said that he had spoken to the Chief Minister and a solution was being worked out. Mr. Jagan questioned the rationale behind the government asking the police to crack down on the protesters who were demanding SCS. The government had resorted to arrests of the protesters and the TDP had distanced itself from the protest, exposing the intentions of the Chief Minister. The overwhelming response to the bandh in which political parties like the Left and other organisations participated reflected the mood of the people. “Special status is our right and we have decided to continue the fight without giving in to Mr. Naidu and his antics,” he said recalling the protests conducted by the YSRC including his hunger strike that was foiled by the police over the last two years in support of the demand. Mr. Jagan recalled that Mr. Naidu did not raise the issue when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to attend the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Amaravati. With the YSRC raising the pitch, the CM had asked his MPs to stage protests.
The YSRC had sought the appointment of the President and the Prime Minister to represent the concerns of the State over denial of the special category status. “I am not sure whether the Prime Minister will give an audience, but we will fight it out till the demand is conceded,” he said.
