YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday demanded that TDP national president and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu quit as convener of the BJP-led NDA and ensure all his MPs resigned as a last resort to achieve Special Category Status (SCS) to the State.
Continuing his Praja Sankalpa Yatra, Mr. Reddy questioned the sincerity of Mr. Naidu, who still led the NDA as its convener even after he withdrew his Ministers from the Union Cabinet. “How can the TDP chief continue in the NDA after withdrawing Ministers from the Union Cabinet?” he asked.
Likening the TDP to the Britishers, who gave Independence when it had became inevitable, Mr. Reddy said, after a series of flip-flops on the issue of SCS, Mr. Naidu was forced to bow to the wishes of the people, who felt that only the coveted status would bring more industries to the State and help create jobs for the youth. “Had the TDP pulled out its Ministers in September 2016, when the Centre ruled out SCS and mooted special package, the State would have got the status by now,” he opined. Mr. Naidu had failed to impress upon the Centre to implement its direction to the Planning Commission to take steps for granting SCS before NITI Aayog replaced it.
‘Big drama’
Accusing the TDP chief of enacting a “big drama” in the last four years, Mr. Reddy said the Chief Minister deserved an Oscar for being the “best thespian.”
“Instead of impressing upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant SCS, the Chief Minister had foiled my indefinite fast for SCS on the eve of the former’s visit to Amaravati for the capital construction ceremony,” Mr. Reddy said.
He wanted people to introspect over the four-year “misrule” of the TDP and take a well-informed decision in the 2019 elections.
Mr. Reddy promised to implement the “Navaratna promises” to restore “Rajanna Rajyam” in the State.
He criticised the State government for the “poor progress” in the works relating to modernisation of the Kommamuru canal, which formed part of the Krishna Western Delta, even after a majority of the works had been completed during the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure.
