Special status is no cure-all: Venkaiah Naidu

Amid demands from opposition YSR Congress and other parties for special status for Andhra Pradesh as promised by the earlier UPA government, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said the status alone wouldn't guarantee economic development.

"All problems will not be solved with the special status. Eleven states in the country have been given the special status and they now say they are poor. Special status is one of the issues for Andhra Pradesh. But everything won't be solved with that. Along with that, the Centre intends to help the state more than that," he said at an event in his native Nellore district.

The NDA government headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making efforts to speed up growth and create wealth in the country, he said. The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised special status to Seemandhra (the new Andhra Pradesh) during a discussion on AP Reorganisation Act in the Parliament.