CM urged to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi: CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna

Vijayawada: CPI State secretary K Ramakrishna has demanded that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy take initiative to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to put pressure on the Central government to fulfill the assurances given to the State as per the AP Re-organisation Act 2013.

He pointed out that the State is yet to get Rs 7,000 crore for the development of backward districts. He said the Union government had assured sanction of Rs 50 crore to each backward district every year for development but ignored it later. Addressing a press conference at the State party office here on Monday, Ramakrishna alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was doing injustice to the State and underlined the need for a collective fight by all political parties to protect the interests of AP.

He said the Chief Minister should take an initiative to convene an all-party meeting and lead a delegation to Delhi to put pressure on the Union government to accord the Special Category Status and fulfill the promises made in the Reorganisation Act.

He said the Union government is yet to release Rs 18,000 crore related to the revenue deficit for the year 2014-15.

Referring to issues within the State, Ramakrishna took strong objection to the reported proposals of the State government to sell lands belonging to Andhra University, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Sri Venkateswara University and Sri Krishna Devaraya University to come out of the financial crisis being faced by the State.

He said the State government admitted that it had been facing financial crises. Referring to the recent comments made by Ministers against the Opposition parties and kind of language they used, Ramakrishna said the Chief Minister should control his Ministers from using such filthy language.

He said criticism is common in politics but abusive language should be avoided.

Ramakrishna said former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu conducted Dharma Porata Deeksha in Delhi and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy several times requested the Union government to accord Special Category Status to the State and fulfill other promises as per the Act but there was no response from the Union government. He felt collective efforts by all political parties were required to protect rights of the State.