Jagan meets NaMo

New Delhi: YSRCP supremo Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday called on Prime Minister-Elect Narendra Modi and sought help for Andhra Pradesh. In a memorandum submitted to Modi, he sought liberal assistance for the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh after carving out the separate State of Telangana. Later in the evening, he also called on BJP president Rajnath Singh.

The YSRCP leader's meeting with Modi had political overtones.

With his arch-rival and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu set to become the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and emerging as a key ally of the BJP at the Centre, Jagan has lost power in the State and political space at the Centre. He is also facing a number of graft cases and fears victimisation. In the past, the BJP had come out in his support in Parliament, saying the CBI was being misused to harass the YSRCP leader.

After his meeting with Modi, Jagan skirted the question whether he would support the NDA. He said Modi would not need any support but Andhra Pradesh was in need of his support. However, he indicated that he was willing to extend issue-based support to the Modi Government.

Jagan is understood to have pointed out to Modi that during the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, grave injustice was done to Andhra Pradesh and the new Central government should ensure that justice is done to the State.

In his memorandum, Jagan urged Modi to appoint an Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) in the PMO to oversee the implementation of the assurances given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. He said an OSD could follow up on the assurances given on the floor of Parliament.

There are a lot assurances held by the Centre that need to be implemented like the sanctioning of IIT, NIIT, IIM, IIScR, Central University National Institute of Disaster Management and Metro. He also sought transfer of the KG Basin gas allocation to the new State and a share in the Singareni Collieries, which has been given to Telangana. For Telangana, he sought National Project status to Pranahita-Chevella Project.

Jagan Reddy pointed out that with the loss of Hyderabad, which was not just the Capital but the engine of economic growth for the State, the new State Government loses a high share of revenue.

Besides, he pointed out that the people of Andhra Pradesh have lost out on opportunities for education and healthcare, apart from job opportunities. In the new State, he said, it will take 50 years for the level of development to be at par with the development achieved in Hyderabad.