Hyderabad: Flicking aside the prote-sts and pressures that the Telugu Desam has exerted inside and outside Parliament to force the Centre to accede to its demand of special category status for Andhra Pradesh, the Central government on Tuesday made it clear that this demand will not be met.
During discussions with Mr Jaitley, Mr Yanamala and his team had focused on special status and tax incentives for the state. But the finance ministry says the special package announced earlier is much better than the specific status. It sa-id that if the incentives given to northeastern states (which are under special category) are extended to AP, the backward states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar may also demand the same.
The finance ministry sources further said that the Central government feels that AP’s leadership is generating all this political heat merely to enhance its own reputation as the party that won such a concession for the state. If the Centre yields to Telugu sentiments, then it will have to yield to Kerala and Tamil Nadu sentiments too. Union finance ministry officials also said that the central government has given Rs 12,500 crore in four phases to the Polavaram irrigation project.
