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Modi betrayed AP on Special Status: Jairam
Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said denying special status to Andhra Pradesh was a “gross betrayal” of people of AP by Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Speaking to the media persons during the launch of national campaign against NDA government on the eve of one year in power, he said the entire Congress party was committed for special category status for the State,
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Hyderabad: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said denying special status to Andhra Pradesh was a “gross betrayal” of people of AP by Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Speaking to the media persons during the launch of national campaign against NDA government on the eve of one year in power, he said the entire Congress party was committed for special category status for the State, which has ailing revenue after bifurcation.
On reports that Congress MP from Nalgonda in Telangana, Gutta Sukhender Reddy, writing a letter to the Centre opposing special status to AP, Ramesh said, “In my view, he should not have written that letter. We disassociate ourselves on the content of the letter. There is no compromise, the entire Congress party stands committed to the special category status to Andhra Pradesh.”
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“Nothing can stop the Centre from granting such a status to AP,” Ramesh said, adding, “The Vajpayee government in the past had given special status to Uttarakhand in 2002, though the State was formed in 2000, without even taking the Cabinet approval initially. It was, however, ratified by the National Development Council, and the Planning Commission implemented it. There is neither an NDC nor a Planning Commission in place now to implement it,” he said.
Critical of Modi’s style of governance, he said the Prime Minister has only earned the track record as ‘repackaging master’, besides accumulating large frequent flyer miles as PM. Referring to statements of BJP party chief, Amit Shah, who had reportedly described the election promises as ‘chunavi jumle’ (election gimmicks), the former Union Minister said the party has ‘betrayed the convincing mandate’, which it had got during 2014 elections.
He felt that the countdown for the 2019 elections had already begun for the party, which could be reflected by the Delhi Assembly elections and bleak prospects in Bihar. Condemning the attitude of Modi during foreign tour, he said no head of the State from India has criticised its Opposition on a foreign land.
He held that Modi had ‘broken traditions’. Where ever he goes, the Prime Minister continues to criticise Opposition parties, which was never a tradition when Congress was in power. “It appears that he continues to be in election mode,” he said. Replying to a question, he said Rahul Gandhi might take over the top job as party president by the end of this year.
