YSRCP govt. systematically undermining Panchayat Raj system in Andhra Pradesh, says Rahul Gandhi

He thanks people of A.P. for their support and encouragement

Former AICC president Rahul Gandhi listening to the woes of a cotton farmer in Yemmiganur of Kurnool district on Thursday during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. | Photo Credit: SUBRAMANYAM U.

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra completed its journey through Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning, the All-India Congress Committee leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the people of the State for their overwhelming support and encouragement. “It has truly been a memorable experience,” he conveyed his message in a letter addressed to the people.

He said his interactions with diverse groups during the yatra in Andhra Pradesh brought to light several significant issues impacting the people. “The Congress party stands committed to granting Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh and develop a single capital at Amaravati,” he said, adding that the party also supported the continued public sector status of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, as an asset of the Indian people.

The Congress leader accused the YSR Congress Party in the State of “systematically undermining” the Panchayat Raj system and said his party was opposed to this assault on democratic institutions. “We will also continue to amplify the voice of farmers, youth, women, workers and other stakeholders we interacted with in the last three days,” he said.

Referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the promises made to the State by Parliament in 2014, he said, “We are determined to ensure that these commitments are met fully and speedily. Both the Centre and the State government have failed in this regard.”

Speaking about the challenges faced by his party in Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Rahul Gandhi recalled that once a bastion of the Congress party, this State had produced outstanding statesmen for the country. “We are determined to ensure that the Congress returns to its earlier position,” he said.

He said the yatra had given him an opportunity to listen to people’s voices and gain an in-depth understanding of the daily challenges of the people across the nation. “There is a continuing effort to pit one against the other on the lines of caste, religion, language, food and dress,” he said, and expressed serious concern over the “economic distress caused by skyrocketing prices and growing unemployment. Increasing concentration of political and economic power in a few hands is also a matter of grave concern,” he said.