YSRCP dharna to draw national attention

To expose TDP’s silence on the issue and BJP backtrack on its promise

Hyderabad: The dharna to be organised by YSR Congress Party in New Delhi on Monday is aimed to draw the national attention towards the injustice meted out to Andhra Pradesh by not according special status and highlight the silence of the TDP government on the issue.

Addressing the press here, party senior leaders R K Roja and B Rajendranath Reddy said that the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu mortgaged the self- respect of Telugu people in Delhi to cover up his failures and evade enquiries in the numerous charges of irregularities and corruption.

The BJP on the other hand, back tracked on its promise that only BJP can accord special status and sought votes during the 2014 elections. The party leaders said that the issue of special status was not mentioned in the State Reorganisation Bill is not a valid argument as the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had assured it on the floor of Rajya Sabha.

Later, it was discussed and approved in the subsequent Union Cabinet meetings. During the Tirupati public meeting in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who shared the dais with Naidu, had categorically stated that special status would be accorded to Andhra Pradesh if the BJP is voted to power.

BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu had turned the tables in the Rajya Sabha and sought 10 years special status while in opposition, the leaders pointed out. They said, now the BJP has completely ignored the issue and the Union Minister Rao Inderjeet Singh had categorically stated that the question of special status to Andhra Pradesh would not arise.