YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday challenged TDP national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to walk out of the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre on March 5 (Monday) to prove his sincerity on Special Category Status (SCS).
After holding a meeting with his MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, Mr. Jagan said the YSRCP had responded favourably to Jana Sena Party founder Pawan Kalyan’s suggestion to move a no-confidence motion against the Modi Government.
‘It’s up to Pawan’
“Now, it is his (Mr. Pawan Kalyan’s) responsibility to persuade the TDP to either move a no-confidence motion or back the one to be tabled by the YSRCP on March 21,” Mr. Jagan said, after flagging off the convoy of cars of his party leaders to New Delhi to take their agitation for SCS to the national capital.
As a last resort, all the 25 MPs from the State should be prepared to resign on April 6 to force the Centre to concede SCS, said Mr. Jagan during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra in Chimakurthy and Thallur mandals of Prakasam district. YSRCP legislators would boycott the budget session of the Assembly and join the MPs to stage protests in New Delhi.
The MLAs offered to put in their papers, taking a cue from the MPs, who were getting ready for the final showdown with the Centre when the Budget session of Parliament resumes on March 5, party sources said.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy found fault with the series of flip-flops by Mr. Naidu.
“SCS was Sanjeevini for Mr. Naidu during the 2014 elections and not so in the last four years, when he settled for the Special Assistance Measure (SAM), which, however, did not materialise,” Mr. Jagan said.
“Now, SCS is Sanjeevini again as elections are round the corner. Mr. Naidu can change his stance every now and then for political gains,” he said.
He said the government had thrown into dustbin the Sivaramakrishnan Committee report, which had suggested location of the State capital at Donakonda.
Party’s chief whip in Parliament Y.V. Subba Reddy said the party would step up the agitation for SCS. “We will not rest till SCS is achieved,” asserted YSRC Parliamentary Party leader Mekapati Rajmohan Reddy.
He made it clear that the party would stay away from the Assembly till action was taken against legislators who had defected to the TDP without resigning their posts. He warned the TDP against resorting to any misadventure in the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections from the State.
