“Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh will be our prime agenda in the forthcoming elections,” Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Gidugu Rudra Raju has said.
Addressing the media on the occasion of completing one year as the APCC president, Mr. Rudra Raju pointed out that the BJP had already ruled out the possibility of granting SCS to the State. “The three regional parties— YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP)— are the allies of the BJP. Special Category Status is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. To promote industry in the State, we need investments. We we need to incentivise the indtureis to attract them,” he said.
He said the party’s victory in Karnataka and Telangana had come as a shot in the arm for the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. “Our focus now is on three important meetings— one at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which will be addressed by Rahul Gandhi, a public meeting at Amaravati to highlight the need to achieve SCS to be addressed by Priyanka Gandhi and another public event in Rayalaseema which will be attended by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge,” he said.
Mr. Rudra Raju said the party’s election manifesto for Andhra Pradesh will include five or six flagship programmes on the lines of Karnataka and Telangana models. “The SCS, Polavaram project, funds for the development of backward areas and implementation of the A.P. Reorganisation Act in toto will be the focus areas with regard to the Central government,” he said.
He said in the last one year, the party was revamped, district and mandal-levels committees were formed and cadres were recruited. “By December-end, we will be ready to go to people with an action plan,” he said.
Beginning December 13, the Congress would hold a series of meetings as part of poll preparedness. A State-level Political Affairs Committee meeting on December 13 (Wednesday) at Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada will be attended by the AICC secretaries for Andhra Pradesh C. D. Meyyappan and Christopher Tilak, Congress Working Committee (CWC) members, former Union Ministers and former Pradesh Congress Committee presidents. “Important decisions will be taken,” he said.
On December 14, the party’s district and city unit presidents will meet, while on December 15, Congress vice-presidents and general secretaries will meet for review sessions.
