Hyderabad, YSR Congress has said that the TDP is not taking the Opposition into confidence and is reluctant to press the Centre on its right to get the special status as it has many skeletons in the cupboard and is instead is pursuing its hidden agenda of benefitting a favoured few in all its major policies concerning the State.
“The state government has never taken Opposition Parties into confidence on the issue of special status and has never broached the subject to leading a delegation to Delhi on the issue and there are conflicting and confusing reports from the Centre on the special status,” Party MLA, B Rajendranath Reddy told reporters here on Sunday.
Asserting that the special status would benefit the State, in getting more Central grants and funds besides rapid industrialization, he said, the State is not pressing for it though it was clearly mentioned in the State Reorganisation Bill.
The assurance of special status was given by Dr Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha, where M Venkaiah Naidu, Jairam Ramesh and others were also present. The issue also had the cabinet nod and was sent to Finance Commission.
“Now the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely is telling that we have to look into it if Andhra Pradesh can be covered under the provisions of special category or not is not in good taste. BJP and its ally TDP have trumpeted during electioneering that BJP will give the special status which will propel the State in development.
But now they have changed the tune and TDP is totally silent and does not discuss the issue any more, which gives raise to doubts that it is not talking on the issue as it has to cover up its own fallacies which include the irregularities in the capital formation and the Pattiseema projects,” he said.
Both State and Central leaders are trying to project that the issue is with Finance Commission though it is not within its jurisdiction.
When we have raised the issue in the Assembly, the treasury benches have time and again stated that we are ignorant of the facts on the special status, even as our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had categorically said about our rights on the issue and detailed as to how we stand to lose if we remain silent.
“But the State government has its own priorities and has been pursuing with its hidden agenda of benefitting its favoured few in the capital formation and Pattiseema project. It has involved some private players from Singapore, for obvious reasons.
While it is mentioned in the Act that any extent of degraded land would be given for capital formation besides funds, TDP is going ahead with its plan to build capital city on private land and Pattiseema is only to benefit the contractors though there is an assurance from the Centre on Polavaram,” he said.
TDP which has vehemently opposed SEZs has now taken a U-turn and is giving away fertile land to Companies for development, he said adding that the State is not raising the special status issue as it fears that its irregularities will be questioned, he said.
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