Congress will sanction Special Category Status to AP if voted to power in 2019: Jairam

Vijayawada: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh questioned Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu why he did not try to make amendment to the AP Reorganisation Act to get all the benefits instead of blaming Congress in the name of unscientific bifurcation. 

Addressing a media conference here on Sunday, he said that the Telugu Desam Party aligned with the BJP and asked why the Chief Minister failed to get Special Category Status (SCS) and other assurances from Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also assured to grant SCS to AP during the election campaign in Tirupati, he said and asked why he did not do so after coming to power.

Stating that the Congress party paid a price for the bifurcation of the State, Jairam Ramesh assured that if the Congress party is voted to power in 2019 elections, the first decision of the Centre would be granting SCS to AP. He said that the SCS was right of the people of the State.

Jairam Ramesh said that 11 States were still enjoying the benefits of SCS and asked why the SCS was denied to AP.  Chandrababu Naidu assumed office in June 2014 but he did not exert pressure on Centre to get SCS. If the Centre has the intention, it could take decision in two minutes to establish railway zone in Visakhapatnam as per the Reorganisation Act, he said. 

The protest of TDP MPs in Parliament was a drama, he said and added that there was a nexus between the TDP and BJP. The TDP is not serious in getting all assurances implemented, including the SCS sanctioned to the State, he said. 

He alleged that the TDP government in the State had taken the responsibility of construction of Polavaram Project only to benefit some contractors. The Polavaram Project Authority had become Polavaram postal authority as it is limited to only doing correspondence, he ridiculed.

Former Union Minister J D Seelam said that the Congress would organise ghearao at the Parliament on March 8, demanding SCS to AP. APCC spokesperson Kolanukonda Shivaji and State Congress Mahila president Sunkara Padmaja were present.