The TDP held a day-long deeksha seeking announcement of the new railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam here on Wednesday in which Ministers, MPs, MLAs and senior leaders from all over the State participated.
Vizianagaram MP and former Union Minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju said one should safeguard the interests of the State while ensuring the development of the nation. There should be no conflict of interest. He said India could develop as one of the best democracies only when the State and Central governments worked together.
He took potshots at YSR Congress president Jagan Mohan Reddy and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan saying they had no interest in the development of the State. “If we work unitedly, we can achieve not only the railway zone but all other 18 promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act.”
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Srikakulam MP K. Rammohan Naidu said in the past the three MPs from Srikakulam — himself, Mr. Ashok Gajapti Raju (Vizianagaram ) and Srinivasa Rao (Anakapalle) — had been fighting for the zone but today MPs from other parts of the State had come in support of the agitation.
Mr. Rammohan Naidu said the Centre had been dodging the issue for the last four years in the name of committees and other flimsy reasons. He wondered what committee had the Prime Minister appointed before taking the decision on demonetisation, which had resulted in severe hardship to the people.
The people of the region had been demanding the zone for the past three decades but the NDA government had failed to keep its promise. The YSR Congress party and the JSP presidents should pull up the Centre on the zone, he said.
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Anakapalle MP Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao presided.
Ministers Nimmakayala Chinarajappa, Ch. Sujoy Krishna Ranga Rao, Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, MPs Murali Mohan, Nimmala Kishtappa, Thota Narasimham, JC Diwakar Reddy and Ravindra Kumar and MLAs participated.