SCS turns out to be a bugbear for Naidu yet another time

January 29, 2017 12:49 am | Updated 12:49 am IST - VIJAYWADA:

Protesters gather on Beach Road, notwithstanding prohibitory orders, in support of Special Category Status, in Visakhapatnam on January 26.—

Protesters gather on Beach Road, notwithstanding prohibitory orders, in support of Special Category Status, in Visakhapatnam on January 26.—

The paradox of political perceptions was too glaring to go unnoticed. Even as the Chandrababu Naidu government claimed to firm up 665 Memoranda of Understanding with industries, promising investments of over a whopping ₹10 lakh crore with a potential to create 22 lakh jobs at CII Partnership Summit, the Opposition sweated it out for that elusive Special Category Status (SCS) citing the very same reasons—more industries and more jobs for the youth.

Who is right?

Who is right, the government, the Opposition or the friend-lately-turned foe, Jana Sena Party of actor Pawan Kalyan? As pros and cons of getting SCS continues to be hotly debated, the now emotive issue arriving like a seasonal malaise and disappearing with the passage of time only to reappear again, one thing is apparently clear: the Opposition wants to use it as a potent political weapon to embarrass the ruling alliance of TDP and BJP and keep it alive till the next general elections in 2019.

After all, no Opposition is expected to keep quiet, the BJP and TDP having served a “laddu” to them, as Pawan Kalyan would like to describe it, by failing to get SCS whatever the reasons. Opposition’s argument is simple: Having fiercely fought for SCS and its extension for ten years and milked it fully to come to power how can the leading lights of the alliance now shelve it midway and say the alternative special assistance measure or “special package” is good ? Is it not betrayal? There is traction for Opposition’s argument, the SCS having somehow become a sentimental and prestige issue for some sections of people in Andhra Pradesh.

No wonder like many of the things borrowed from Tamil Nadu in the past, from ₹2 a kg rice scheme to Amma canteens, ‘jallikattu- type’ of agitation was tried out but somewhere down the line, the script appears to have gone awry. It was good initially, the way social media was used to spread a mysterious message asking youth to draw inspiration from Tamil spirit and gather at RK beach in Visakhapatnam, in ‘jallikattu- type’ of protest. It was to coincide with Republic Day and the big ticket CII Partnership Summit there the following day. But soon it became clear who was behind it with Pawan Kalyan tweeting it furiously and the leader of the Opposition in Assembly, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy taking the plunge.

What appeared to be a genuine struggle by independent youth soon metamorphosed into a full blown political battle with all Opposition parties, including Congress, CPI and CPI (M) coming on one platform to lambaste the Telugu Desam and BJP governments for cocking a snook at SCS. The government decided to use brutal force and clamp down. In the end it became another round of political up-man-ship seen in the high drama leading to halting of Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy at Visakhapatnam airport and carting him back to Hyderabad. Who won in this round is anybody’s guess.

Tenuous relationship

Interestingly for the first time one heard the politician in Mr. Pawan Kalyan speak out showing signs of his tenuous relationship with BJP- TDP alliance reaching a breaking point. He has not only made common cause with Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy and others in the Opposition but targeted leaders of a particular denomination. Is the honeymoon over? Will it lead to a political realignment? Time only will tell.

But the moot point is if there is anyone left who sees the SCS beyond a narrow political prism? While the spirit of jallikattu protest was hijacked and used as a strategy one wonders why Andhra politicians fail to follow their Tamil Nadu counterparts of being seen on the same page when it involves state’s interests?

While the Opposition’s case is that lot of benefits flow automatically once the state gets the SCS tag, the government’s argument, arising out its 30-month engagement with the Centre seems otherwise. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu visited Delhi over 30 times to get so many pending issues resolved, but SCS remains a hard nut to crack reasons cited being State’s landscape not fitting the bill, demand from other states and SCS itself being phased out. On their part, BJP and TDP leaders argue that the “special package” would fetch more than SCS and question why states which enjoyed SCS all these years do not figure in the investment or the industries radar or show better job opportunities. Why do these states do not top the lists of ease of doing business?

If this argument is true then why doesn’t the government come out with a White Paper or a fact-sheet of the number of industries attracted and employment generated by states that enjoyed SCS so far? It will not as it means dumping SCS all together, involving too much of a political risk.

Opposition knows this but should one keep harping on SCS alone on the grounds of sentiment and promises made on the floor of Parliament and outside when its impossibility appears inevitable? If the Congress was so concerned why did it not include in the AP Reorganisation Act itself instead of confining to a mere oral announcement by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh? Questions galore but no cogent explainers and the saga seems to continue till the next opportune time, season, or perhaps the next elections.

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