Left leaders slam Chandrababu Naidu’s dual stand on Special Status

Visakhapatnam: CPM politburo member B V Raghavulu called upon the people to fight for Special Category Status (SCS) and Railway Zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters.

It is the time to kick-start the agitation against the Centre and state government demanding SCS taking inspiration from Visakha Ukku-Andhrula Hakku agitation, he said. 

The CPM and CPM jointly staged a Maha Dharna demanding the Centre to fulfil all the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act-2014 here on Wednesday.

Addressing the Maha Dharna, Raghavulu slammed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s dual stand on the SCS and criticised that instead of fighting against the Centre, the Chief Minister brought Cheer Girls from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to perform dances in the Partnership Summit to attract the investments insulting the Telugu culture and traditions.

The CPM leader said at least now the state government should open its eyes and join hands with opposition parties for fighting unitedly against the Centre on the SCS.

“Earlier, the TDP published a book detailing the benefits of SCS and cited several examples about the development in the north-eastern states after according the SCS. But, after coming into power, the TDP president and Chief Minister was saying that there would not be any use of SCS,” Raghavulu alleged.

Speaking on railway zone issue, he demanded that the government appoint a committee with MPs and MLAs from the state instead of forming a committee with outsiders.

Stating that the both governments have been resorting to delaying tactics to set up Tribal University in the name of insufficient land availability, he asked how the state government was giving huge extent of lands to the corporate companies to establish their units in the state. 

CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna said both left parties have chalked out a series of agitations demanding that the Centre fulfil all promises made in AP Reorganisation Act.

He said a seminar would be convened in Guntur on March 1 to review the budget sanctions from the Centre to Andhra Pradesh. Both CPI and CPM would stage a ‘deeksha’ on March 2 across the state and form a human chain in Tirupati on March 3 followed by a candle rally on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on March 4, Ramakrishna detailed said. 

Senior leaders including Ch Narsinga Rao and others said the MPs and MLAs should resign from their elected posts demanding that the Centre fulfil all promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act.