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Cong striving to secure Special Category Status: Raghuveera
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president N Raghuveera Reddy said the Congress party is intensely lobbying to get the private bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on sanction of Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.
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Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president N Raghuveera Reddy said the Congress party is intensely lobbying to get the private bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on sanction of Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.
He said senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K V P Ramachandra Rao had introduced a private bill in Rajya Sabha on the Special Status issue. It is likely to come up for discussion in the Upper House on July 22.
Raghuveera Reddy participated in a Meet-the-Press programme at Vijayawada Press Club on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, the PCC chief said the Congress party has already spoken to the Left parties, Samajwadi Party, BSP and other parties and sought their co-operation for the passing of bill in the House.
He pointed out that nine States in the country were given Special Category Status. He said seven States were given Special Status during the Congress rule and two States got it during the NDA rule.
Replying to a question, he said there was no need for an Act for according the Special Status. No State in India secured the Special Status based on an Act, the Congress leader categorically said.
He said the ruling party can provide Special Status by passing the bill in Parliament. He said the Congress-led UPA government had given assurances worth Rs 5 lakh crore for the development of Andhra Pradesh during the bifurcation of the State but the ruling BJP so far granted projects worth only Rs 6,000 crore during the last two years to the State.
He said that he is ready for a debate with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on the Special Status issue. He said the Union Cabinet can sanction special status to any State. To a query on the depleted strength of the Congress in the State, he attributed three reasons for it. He said bifurcation of the State, division of the Congress party into two parties and finally some senior Congress leaders leaving the party during the difficult times had weakened the party.
