KVP flays Naidu for ignoring Special Category Status

New Delhi:  Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Dr K V P Ramachandra Rao here on Monday questioned the dithering of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in confronting the Centre over implementing the assurances incorporated in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Questioning the failure of Naidu in forcing the Centre to act so far, Dr Rao sought to know whether the former was sincere in protecting the interests of the State. The latest stand of Naidu that he would opt for legal recourse if the Centre failed in implementing the promises was at best farcical, Ramachandra Rao claimed.

Who would Naidu make respondents in the petition if he were to file a petition, Rao wondered seeking to know whether the Chief Minister would be able to name the Prime Minister or the Centre as respondents and seek to fight the legal battle against them. If that were to be the case, why did Naidu fail to respond to High Court directive and file a response within the stipulated time in a case filed by him, Dr Rao added.

If only the Chief Minister were to display the same interest in securing the promised Special Category Status (SCS), industrial units and other developmental projects as he did in securing his personal business interests, AP would not have been facing the present crisis.

The youth in the State would have been blessed with jobs and the State would have caught up with other developed States if the priorities were right, he said during a media conference here. 

Unfortunately, Naidu played dirty politics with the people who brought him to power in the fond hope that he would be able to secure all projects but, sadly, it was not to be, he said. Naidu should stop fooling the people any longer and play some straight politics instead of attempting to blame the Centre now for "its failure".

Perhaps, Naidu had sensed the anti-BJP mood in the country now and was planning to distance himself from the alliance by next general elections and hence, the new blame game. As for the claim of Naidu now that the division of the State was unscientific, Rao said, how come the former suddenly realised it now.