Seething over the Centres stand on special status to Andhra Pradesh, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has summoned party MPs for an emergency meeting here tomorrow to decide whether or not to continue in the NDA government. Minister of State for Science Y S Chaudhary of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) interrupted Jaitley to ask for being generous to Andhra, only to get a reprimand from Deputy Chairman P J Kurien that he should understand collective responsibility of the ministers.
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Without saying a definite “yes” or “no” to the demand for Special Category Status to AP, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday made it clear that as an alternative to the SCS, the Central government had been according special financial assistance to AP and would continue to do so. “All parties should come to the rescue of Andhra Pradesh as they had contributed to its bifurcation by supporting the AP Reorganisation Bill (in 2014)”, Chandrababu said. He said, institutions like IIT, IIIT, AIIMS are being established in the state.
“He (Jaitley) says injustice has been done to AP”.
“I raised this issue at the Inter-State Council meet on July 16 and reminded the Chief Ministers of all states about the irrational bifurcation”.
Already messages have been sent to all MPs from AP Chief Minister Office (CMO), asking them to attend meeting.
Government has said it is committed to fulfill the provisions made in the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act 2014. “The Congress party will also participate in the statewide bandh”.
In addition, the Centre is giving Rs 2500 crore for the capital, a far cry from the Rs 52000 Naidu needs to build his dream capital, Amaravathi. We have to fight.
“The special category status is required for massive industrialisation to take place, since industrial incentives are given to those states who have got special category status and without these how will the state prosper and how do we give employment to lakhs of people”, he said. Meanwhile CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said that the “Finance minister’s speech was more confusing with regard to the special status”.
“We sought handholding support from the Centre till we grow on par with other states in south India”. We could not reject the recommendations as the finances of all states were involved.
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“We will still be a (revenue) deficit state even at the end of the 14th Finance Commission’s term”.
