Only Congress govt will accord Special Category Status to AP, claims Chandy

Eluru: All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary and former Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy said that Andhra Pradesh will get Special Category Status (SCS) only through the Congress government at the Centre. He said that after Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime Minister, he will sign the file of Special Category Status (SCS) of Andhra Pradesh.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday morning, the State Congress affairs in-charge and AICC General Secretary said that the BJP that came to power had assured Andhra Pradesh that if it was voted to power it would provide Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh for a period of 10 years.

However, the BJP had forgotten its promise made during the election campaign, he lamented. The TDP which allied with BJP did not open its mouth for four years and now it was raising its voice seeking Special Category Status, he pointed out. 

He also criticised the principal Opposition party YSRCP for its failure to fight against the Centre on the Special Category Status. “The Congress is the hope. We will do what we told the people. Congress only can accord the SCS to Andhra Pradesh”, he claimed. The AICC General Secretary said that if the Congress is voted to power in Andhra Pradesh and at the Centre, Kapus will be included in BCs. 

He said that Kapus enjoyed the reservation during the Congress regime earlier. The TDP which assured the Kapus of BC reservations had failed to fulfill its election promise and was dragging the issue. He also pointed out that YSRCP president YS Jaganmohan Reddy already stated that it was not possible to assure reservations to Kapu people. 

Reiterating that the Congress will provide reservation to Kapus, he said, “We assure you. Ensure victory to the Congress in 25 Parliament seats in Andhra Pradesh. We will pass the Kapu Reservation Bill in Parliament.” 

Chandy said the Congresy will appoint 44,000 booth-level committees in the State. Party activists will take up door-to-door campaign.  Later Oommen Chandy participated in a meeting held at the District Congress Committee Office at Agraharam and addressed the workers. 

He said every Congress worker should be disciplined to bring the Congress back to power in the next elections. Senior Congress leaders J D Seelam, Vatti Vasant Kumar, Panabaka Lakshmi and DCC president Rafiullah Baig also addressed the meeting. Earlier, the meeting witnessed a minor scuffle between the supporters of Rafiullah Baig and followers of AICC member Jetti Gurunatha Rao.