Special Package And Not Special Status For AP?

Andhra Pradesh's demand for special status seems to be only a mirage now as the Union government is actively considering a special package of financial assistance instead of special status.

This could be surmised from the statements of both the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday in response to the protests and demands from the MPs of the state for special status.

While Rajnath Singh said that the Centre would not let down the aspirations of the people of the two Telugu states and would fulfill all the assurances made in the A P Reorganization Act, Naidu clarified that no clause had been incorporated in the A P Reorganization Act for the granting of special status to AP.

However, the Union Ministry of Finance was examining all possibilities of providing a special package to the residual state to tide over its financial crisis, Naidu assured.

YSR Congress Party MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy lashed out at the Centre for denying special status to AP despite an assurance made by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament.

Asserting that it was the bounden duty of the NDA government to fulfill the assurances made by the previous regime, he warned that the present unrest among the people of the state on the issue might erupt like a volcano if no assurance came forth immediately from the Union government.

TDP member Avanthi Srinivas pointed out that AP needed to be built from scratch and the state was in a serious financial crisis.

Though the Centre had assured to pitch in to make up for the deficit budget of the state, nothing concrete had been done so far, he lamented, and accused the Congress of being responsible for the financial problems of AP by bifurcating the united state in a hurry for selfish political ends.

In the meantime, former bureaucrat and founder-president of the Lok Satta Party, Jayaprakash Narayan, expressed his doubts about AP getting special status.

Criticizing some political leaders of trying to exploit the issue for selfish ends by instigating agitations, he propogated a united struggle by all parties to achieve special status.

The special status issue seems to be slowly and steadily snowballing into a major movement in AP. CPI workers took out a rally in Rajahmundry demanding special status to AP, and even staged a dharna before the residence of TDP MP Murali Mohan, who had recently threatened to quit his MP seat for the cause.

The CPI workers demanded that the TDP MP lead a struggle for the special status demand.

Students in Dharmavaram of the Anantapur district also staged a dharna demanding special status. (NSS)