Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been facing a severe existential crisis following the attack from all political parties including its ally Telugu Desam Party, for not doing justice to Andhra Pradesh with regard to special category status, has started playing the Rayalaseema card to outwit its critics.
On Friday, the BJP adopted a Rayalaseema Declaration at a meeting held in Kurnool, in which they made some crucial demands.
First, the State government should have a second capital in Rayalaseema with all the administrative offices including secretariat and state assembly, besides the chief minister’s residence and a temporary Raj Bhavan for Governor. The government should hold the assembly sessions at Rayalaseema once in six months.
Secondly, the state high court should have its permanent building not in Amaravati but in Rayalaseema.
Thirdly, the government should allocate a separate budget for Rayalaseema projects with Rs 20,000 crore and a special package for artisans in the region.
The BJP leaders demanded that Naidu should not repeat his ‘mistake’ of developing a single region between Vijayawada and Guntur while ignoring the rest of the state.
Apparently, the BJP is planning to cash in on the agitation by lawyers of Rayalaseema demanding setting up of High Court in the region.
Last month, lawyers from the Rayalaseema High Court Sadhana Samithi met acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan of the Hyderabad High Court and urged him to consider their demand, stating that injustice had been done to the region.
However, the chief minister said Rayalaseema region could only get a bench of the High Court, but not the entire court.’
