The Saturday’s letter written by Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah to Telugu Desam Party president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu might have been viewed by many as a slap on the latter’s face, but at the same time, it also amounts to insulting the agitation of the people of the state.
It doesn’t matter to the people whether Naidu stays in the NDA or out of it, because it is a political decision and the impact would be felt by the TDP.
But what matter is whether the Centre has really fulfilled the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act, including the demand for special category status.
In fact, Naidu will have to pay the penalty for compromising on the special category status and agreeing for the special package. But has the Centre really given the amount promised in the package?
It was in September 2016, after dilly dallying for more than two years, that the Centre had granted special package in lieu of special status.
Why did it take another six months to give the Cabinet nod to the same? How many times did the officials and Naidu run around the Centre to get the statutory status to the package?
The BJP president is talking about utilisation certificates for the funds already given to the state, like for instance the amount of Rs 1500 crore sanctioned for capital construction.
Well, there is a point in it. But that does not come in the way of allocating funds in the budget? Why not a single rupee was earmarked in the budget?
Submission of UCs is a continuous process, but is it justified in withholding funds just for the sake of non-submission of UCs?
If the Centre says all the promises made in the Act are fulfilled, why are the people agitating? If Naidu had done a mistake, they would teach him a lesson in the elections. But what about the BJP for lying?
If the Centre thinks Naidu had misappropriated all the money given by the Centre, why has it remained silent all these days? And will it order any inquiry into it now?
Forget about all the funds released so far and non-submission of UCs. Will the Centre fulfil the demand of the people for special category status?
