Cong MPs demand special status to AP

Congress members from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday joined hands in Rajya Sabha to demand special status for Andhra Pradesh and a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on fulfilling the promises made in the AP reorganizatioin Act.

Waving placards in Rajya Sabha that read "Implement Special Status" to AP, J D Seelam raised the issue of death of a Congress activist, who succumbed yesterday to burns he suffered after self-immolation in support of the demand, at a party meeting in Tirupati on Saturday.

"He was cremated yesterday. The entire Andhra Pradesh is agitated. Different ministers of the government are saying different things on the issue. This government, the Prime Minister should categorically say (what is being done).

"We want the provisions of the AP bill and the contents of the House proceedings on the issue to be implemented. We do not want silence (of the government)," Seelam said.

V Hanumantha Rao, another Congress MP from Telangana region, also joined the issue charging the Narendra Modi government with not fulfilling promises it has made.

"Government of the day should honour the statement made in the House. I want to know whether the promises made by Prime Minister are valid or not, whether the promises made by the government in the House are valid or not," he said.

The Congress protest over the issue in Rajya Sabha came a day after YSR Congress, led by its president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, held a dharna at Jantar Mantar here demanding grant of special status to AP.

The CPI has today called for statewide bandh in support of the demand, which is being supported by the state Congress.

The promise of special status to Seemandhra (new Andhra Pradesh) was made in Parliament during state bifurcation last year.

With Opposition parties stepping up attack on him over special category status to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had yesterday said he had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue and other promises made to the state during bifurcation last year.