Chandrababu Naidu joins Opposition to bend Centre on Special Category Status

Amaravati: Apparently bent on not letting the initiative slip from his hands, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced TDP’s support to the Opposition-sponsored state-wide national highway blockade on Thursday to build pressure on the Centre for delivering special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister, however, wanted his party men not to create any law and order problem as it would hurt the investment climate in the state. He wanted them to make the party’s voice heard loud and clear that it would not lie low but would be in the vanguard till the state gets what is rightfully due to it from the Centre.

With the YSRC being already campaigning for SCS and Pawan Kalyan charting out his own form of agitation, Naidu does not want to let them overtake him in taking the agitation forward.  

He reiterated at a meeting with self-help groups that he would not rest until full justice is done to the state and that he would go to any extent to get it.

Naidu broke ranks with the BJP after he neither got SCS nor the special package offered to him in lieu of the SCS and has intensified attack on the BJP to get an upper hand over the agitation.

After his exit from the NDA, he had three rivals to reckon with – YSRCP, BJP and Jana Sena – which are after Naidu for his “inept” handling of the SCS issue which “allowed” incalculable harm being done to the state.

Naidu, speaking to the self-help groups, said that a people’s movement should be built to bring the centre to its knees. “I want all employees also support the road blockade programme tomorrow. Let the party workers stage protests, go on hunger strikes while employees wear black badges,” he said.

Naidu, however, was categorical that there should be no violence. “If an impression gains ground that there is no law and order, it could affect the flow of investments into the state,” he said. The TDP MPs are staging protests in Delhi and for the last few days, they have been trying to move no confidence motion against the NDA in Lok Sabha to expose the “true colours” of BJP but so far could not succeed in their endeavour.

Later, TDP state president K Kala Venkata Rao also called the TDP leaders and cadre to participate in the agitation. He maintained that the party had decided to participate in the protest called by “Pratyeka Hodha Sadhana Samithi”.