Sonia Gandhi feels split pain, slams Centre on sops for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched an attack on the Narendra Modi government over “failing to fulfil” commitments made to the people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by the previous UPA regime.

Making her first speech in the 16th Lok Sabha, Ms Gandhi said that the people of both states feel they have been “taken for granted” as nothing had moved on the ground in the past nine months, apparently referring to indecision on conferment of Special Category status to Andhra Pradesh.

She was participating in the discussion on the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Amendment Bill that sought to raise the number of seats in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council to 58 from the current 50.

Apparently, in an effort to rejuvenate the party in both states, Ms Gandhi reminded the MPs that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had committed in the Rajya Sabha that Andhra Pradesh would be granted Special Category status. “But it is disappointing to find that the government has not shown any interest in fulfilling these commitments. This is even more perplexing given that the BJP and the TD are in coalition at the Centre and the state,” she said.