Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised that the party would grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh on priority if it comes to power at the Centre in 2019.
“We will give special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It’s the first thing we will do after coming to power in 2019,” Mr. Gandhi told Congress workers who had gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site, close to Parliament, demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh.
“I am confident that if we stand together, we will convince the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that what is due to the people of Andhra Pradesh should be given to them,” he said.
Subsequently he tweeted, “It is my belief that if the Opposition stands united on this issue, we can force the BJP government to do justice to the people of Andhra Pradesh.”
AAP joins protest
AAP MLA Somnath Bharti also joined the protest with a message from the Delhi Chief Minister. “The AAP will support the Congress wherever they raise this demand, be it inside or outside Parliament,” he said.
The YSR Congress Party has also announced that all its five MPs will resign on April 6 if the demand was not met.
Though the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is part of the NDA government at the Centre, its leaders are protesting against the central government for “neglecting Andhra Pradesh.”
Andhra Pradesh claims the bifurcation caused a huge revenue deficit to the State.
The Centre announced a “special package” in 2016 for Andhra, but the TDP government claimed no funds have been released under the package. This has turned the focus back on special category status for the State.
(With inputs from PTI)
