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CM’s sharp retort puts BJP MLA on defensive over Special Category Status
BJP faced embarrassing situation in Assembly with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reacting swiftly to the comments of BJP member during a discussion on Motion of Thanks to Governor’s address on Tuesday.
Amaravati: BJP faced embarrassing situation in Assembly with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reacting swiftly to the comments of BJP member during a discussion on Motion of Thanks to Governor’s address on Tuesday.
It all started when BJP MLA Akula Satyanarayana criticised political parties, including TDP, for propagating that Special Category Status (SCS) was a panacea to all problems of Andhra Pradesh. He told the House that the Chief Minister himself had said the state would not get more than Rs 3,000 crore even if the SCS was accorded to AP.
The Chief Minister, reacting quickly to this observation, made it clear that he never made such comments. “I am not deviating from my stand. I clearly told the Centre that all the provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act must be implemented besides the promises made by the then UPA government in Parliament, including SCS. I also asked the Centre to give AP all the benefits that were being given to North-eastern states,” he said.
Raising his voice, Naidu further said the SCS was related to the sentiments and self-respect of the people. “Congress has also done like this (BJP) and lost its without trace in the state. The party won only 800 votes in Nandyal byelection,” he said.
He also said he was quiet only because of alliance with the BJP. “If not, I would have talked tough,” he said. Naidu said, “We were hurt. You (BJP) cannot insist that the Centre accomplished all the promises. You should go to Delhi and ask them to sort out issues,” he said.
Baffled by the Chief Minister’s sharp reaction, the BJP MLA softened his voice and tried to pacify Naidu. “I am not saying that the Centre has fulfilled all the promises. My intention is that we have to pursue the issues with the Centre constantly,” he said while adding that they (BJP) had full confidence on the capability of the Chief Minister.
Satyanarayana clarified that the Centre was only compensating industrial incentives to the 11 states because of implementation of GST and not continuing the SCS to those states. He also said the Centre was ready to give Rs 35,000 crore for Externally Aided Projects and even ready to address issues that were not included in AP Reorganisation Act.
The BJP MLA admitted that there were some contentious issues in the AP Reorganisation Act such as bridging revenue deficit. When he raised the issue of erecting flexi boards criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minister for transport K Atchannaidu clarified that the Chief Minister had directed that such boards be removed.
He also requested the BJP leaders not to go against the sentiments of people. During the speech of BJP MLA Satyanarayana, some TDP MLAs tried to interrupt his speech by making comments.
