Congress takes on BJP, presses for special status to Andhra

The Congress Party on Tuesday urged the BJP-led NDA Government to fulfil the assurance of special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in his address to the Upper House said Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had failed to protect the interests of Andhra Pradesh as per the AP Reorganisation Act-2014.

He criticised Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu for his silence on the special category status.

"Naidu, as an Opposition leader, had said at the time of passage of bifurcation bill that the BJP was committed to granting the special category status for AP for 10 years. Why you don't implement it?" he asked.

Congress MP from Telangana, K V P Ramachandra Rao, during the private members business had earlier moved the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which seeks to amend the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

A delegation of 15 Congress leaders met President Pranab Mukherjee in the national capital yesterday and submitted a memorandum, asking him to intervene on the issue of Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.

Former union minister Chiranjeevi and Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Raghuveera Reddy led the delegation of senior party leaders -- Digvijaya Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Killi Kruparani, Panabhaka Lakshmi, M.M. Pallam Raju, J.D. Seelam, T. Subbiram Reddy, K Bapiraju, C. Ramachandraiah, Kasu Krishna Reddy, N. Tulasi Reddy, Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy and S. Sailajanth - to President Mukherjee.

About 300 Congress leaders have taken up agitation for Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh and demanded the implementation of various benefits listed in the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act enacted to bifurcate the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and new Andhra Pradesh.