Will give support to whoever gives Andhra special status: YSRCP Chief

YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said that the party will support whoever promises 'Special Category Status' to Andhra Pradesh.

"Whosoever is ready to give 'special category status' to Andhra Pradesh, It will have YSRCP's support," Reddy told media.

The YSRCP chief further said that all options are open from the party and Andhra Pradesh "comes first for us and is above all the other issues."

Yesterday, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at a press conference, said that the Centre was committed to offering the monetary equivalent of special status to the state, which would be presented as a 'special package', following which Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced the decision that two of his ministers would pull out from the government.

Jaitley said the special package that was announced by the Centre was better than special status and there was no difference between the two. He said that the funds would be allotted according to the Finance Commission's recommendations, but not on the basis of regional sentiments.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders have been protesting in the Parliament after the Union Budget 2018 was presented in the House in February which disappointed them as Jaitley's speech neglected Andhra Pradesh.