Political parties misleading people on AP special status

Vizianagaram: Former MLC and the Hans India Editor Prof K Nageshwar on Thursday bsaid both the Congress and the BJP had cheated the people of Andhra Pradesh on the Special Status. He delivered a speech on the occasion of presenting Moturu Hanumantha Rao Memorial Award to A Amarayya here.

Prof Nageshwar said senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu had demanded that the previous UPA government give the Special Status to AP for a minimum of 10 years when the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had assured five years. “Later, the NDA assured during electioneering that it would give special status for 15 years. But now they have backtracked on their assurances.

Even the leaders of AP never sought Special Status from the Centre fearing they may be viewed as supporting bifurcation. The present AP government also never passed a resolution in Assembly seeking special status. The NDA government at the Centre can amend the AP Bifurcation Act to do some favour to the State if it want but it is not considering it,” he said.

Stating that the Centre had given only Rs 50 crore to each backward district in the AP for infrastructure development as mentioned in the bifurcation Act, he asked what infrastructure can be developed with such a meagre amount. If the State gets the special status, it will have more chances of attracting the industries as the investors will get more tax incentives, he added.

Prof Nageshwer noted that AP has lost major share of income from software industries in Hyderabad. MLC K Veerabhadra Swamy, chairperson of ZP Sobha Swati Rani, prominent journalist Potturi Venkateswara Rao and others participated in the programme.