Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited him to Delhi after Independence Day to discuss the special category status for AP. He said Mr Modi had assured him that the Centre would clear pending state issues. The AP government would get more clarity on special status after this meeting, he said.
Speaking to media persons, he said he would explain the developments related to the special category status in four days. He said the government would release papers to explain the situation regarding special status and its developments right from the beginning.
Answering questions, Mr Naidu said, “The government will make efforts. I have met Mr Modi and other Cabinet ministers eight times. I have briefed BJP president Amit Shah on the situation and the promises made by the coalition. I have never compromised on people’s issues. The TD has an alliance with the BJP but people’s interest is more important,” he said.
He said that apart from the special status, there were other important issues like railway zone, special package for backward areas, funds for capital city construction. Mr Naidu said that the Centre had the responsibility to extend help to get justice on par with other states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karanataka. He said the state was bifurcated against the people’s wish and AP did not get benefits equal to Telangana.
He criticised the Opposition parties, especially the Congress and the YSRC, for politicising issues. He asked AICC leader Rahul Gandhi why the Congress had not included the additional mandals for Polavaram and special status in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill. He alleged that the YSRC and its leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had tried to obstruct the constuction of the capital.
“Now they are making allegations against me for political gains,” he said. “But people are clever and that’s why they punished the two political parties.”
