Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and BJP State president K. Haribabu have to take the blame for Andhra Pradesh being denied Special Category Status (SCS), Congress leader and social activist Bolisetty Satya has said. He, however, said that SCS was not a closed chapter as it was being made out by the ruling parties.
Referring to them as ‘Naidu trio’, Mr. Satya alleged that the Chief Minister had consistently cheated the people by regularly making false statements that the Modi-government was helping the State in building a world-class capital and completion of the Polavaram project by 2018. While Mr. Venkaiah Naidu had demanded SCS for 10 years, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu wanted it for 15 years. Both of them had changed their stance on SCS subsequently. The CM stated that ‘special package’ was enough for the State. Mr. Satya said that SCS would enable the State to get several benefits like tax exemptions and excise duty concessions, which would ensure a spurt in industrial and economic growth. Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, when he was the Union Minister, used to praise the CM and describe him as the only person, who could bail out the State from the crisis and that he (Mr. Venkaiah) and the Prime Minister were there at the Centre to make this happen. They failed to get even 20 % of what was promised in the Act and decided by the UPA-II Cabinet. The Leader of the Opposition Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had also failed in his duty by not insisting on the implementation of SCS, he said.
Mr. Haribabu was trying to pass the buck by talking on feasibility of the new railway zone in the State, which was provided for in the AP Reorganisation Act. Mr. Satya wondered: “What feasibility does the Railway University in Vadodara and the package announced for trains in Bengaluru have?
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He said that the TDP, which was founded on the plank of ‘Atma gauravam’, has now placed their self-respect at the feet of the Modi-government. Since, the previous Cabinet had already taken a decision on SCS there was no need for further discussion on the issue.
Mr. Satya recalled that Congress President Rahul Gandhi had assured the people, at a public meeting held in Guntur on July 5, 2017, that the first thing the Congress would do after coming to power was to honour the commitment on SCS as a matter of right of people.