New Delhi: Members, cutting across party lines in Rajya Sabha on Thursday passionately pleaded the NDA government to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh and honour the promises made by the previous government while bifurcating the state in 2014.
Members of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), an ally of BJP, as well as Congress, CPI-M, JD(U), Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) and Trinamool Congress asked the government to implement the AP Reorganisation Act properly as the House took up a short duration discussion on the issue.
Congress member K V P Ramchandra Rao had moved a Private Member bill in the House for grant of special package to Andhra Pradesh last Friday but it could not be taken up then as the House could not function on that day due to ruckus over the controversial filming of Parliament complex by AAP's Lok Sabha member Bhagwant Mann.
Since the start of this week on Monday, Congress had been strongly insisting on taking up the bill and even disrupted the House for two days on the issue.
The government has contended that the bill is a money bill and hence it cannot be taken by Rajya Sabha. The matter is pending before Rajya Sabha Chairman.
Initiating a short duration discussion on the debate, former Union Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked NDA government about the status of implementation of six assurances that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made while passage of the Act in February 2014.
"Out of six assurances, two of them have been implemented. I request the Finance Minister to shed light on other assurances, particularly on granting special status and a special package to the state," he said.
The NDA has already initiated measures to execute the Polavaram project and announced funds for seven backward districts of AP, he said.
Ramesh said the then Prime Minister had assured granting of Special Category status to AP for five years. "When then PM made this assurance, Venkaiah Nadu had said it should be for 10 years and not five years," he said.
He also wanted to know the status of implementation of the Act, specially with regard to "Section 93, 94 (1 and 2), Section 84 and 85, Section 90 (4) and Section 46 (2 and 3).
