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Council witnesses verbal duel between TDP, BJP members
Telugu Desam and BJP members were involved in a heated argument on Wednesday during a debate at the Legislative Council at Velagapudi over the Special Category Status issue and allocation of funds to the State as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.
Amaravati: Telugu Desam and BJP members were involved in a heated argument on Wednesday during a debate at the Legislative Council at Velagapudi over the Special Category Status issue and allocation of funds to the State as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.
The TDP alleged that the BJP was neglecting the State in allocation of funds while the BJP members strongly opposed it. The TDP members demanded that the Union government must grant Special Category Status to the State.
The Legislative Council was adjourned by the council chairman Md Farooq amidst heated arguments between the members of the two parties. TDP MLC and government whip Dokka Manikya Varaprasad gave an elaborate speech over motion of thanks to the speech of Governor ESL Narasimhan on March 5.
Dokka said the Special Category Status (SCS) is the right of the people of Andhra Pradesh and Union government must give it. He recalled that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the present Vice-president of India M Venkaiah Naidu had assured the people of Andhra Pradesh that SCS would be granted to the State for 10 years.
The TDP MLC wondered why the Central government is not according the Special Status to the State. He lashed out at the BJP stating that the NDA government was not caring to implement the assurances made in the Parliament.
He said that the Union government was not releasing funds for important projects like construction of capital Amaravati, light metro rail for Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and not taking up important projects like Dugarajapatnam port, Kadapa Steel Plant and for construction of buildings for premier educational institutions.
He spoke over 30 minutes narrating how the Union government failed to fulfill the promises made in Parliament. He stressed upon the need for releasing grants for construction of roads to connect the capital region to the Rayalaseema region. Responding to the allegations made by Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, BJP MLC P V N Madhav said the TDP leaders were levelling false charges against the BJP.
He said the Union government is ready to release funds for construction of the Polavaram Project and construction of AIIMS near Mangalagiri. He asked the TDP leaders to go and check the construction works of AIIMS. He told the Legislative Council that the BJP was committed to the development of the State.
He said that the Central government helped the State to get 24x7 power supply and will honour the promises made to the State. When the BJP MLC said that the Union government had granted Rs 1 lakh crore worth national highway projects works to the State and has been fulfilling all promises made in the Reorganisation Act, the TDP members raised objections.
They asked the BJP MLC to stop making false statements. However, Madhav also reacted strongly and hit back at the TDP members saying that they were levelling false charges against the Union government and the BJP.
Another BJP MLC Somu Veerraju too joined the argument and spoke in support of Madhav. The chairman of the council N Md Farooq intervened and adjourned the House till Thursday morning.
