It's official now. The Narendra Modi government on Friday finally made it clear that it was not possible to grant 'Special Status' to the new state of Andhra Pradesh or for that matter, any new State.
The issue came up for a debate in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Indrajit Singh said, “It is not possible to grant ‘Special Status’ to a new state. Bihar was not given any sort of privilege and only ‘Special package’ was promised.”
It clearly shows that the Centre might consider granting special package to AP, but there is no question of any special status.
All these days, the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP have been saying that the proposal for special status to AP is still under consideration of the Centre and as such, there is no need for any panic.
Reacting to the Centre’s statements, Andhra Intellectuals Forum president Chalasani Srinivas said, “The Centre has cheated the people of Andhra. We will fight with the government to make it happen and will intensify the stir.”
TDP spokesman Jupudi Prabhakar Rao said the Centre’s statement was unfortunate. The special package would no way compensate the benefits of special status.
“We will not give up our fight,” he said.
