Kakinada: YSR Congress Party president Jagan Reddy here on Wednesday lambasted Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleging that the latter has become thick-skinned, shameless and was not able to talk properly.
Addressing a large number of students and youth gathered here on Wednesday as part of the Yuva Bheri, the Leader of Opposition in his inspiring speech to create awareness on the special status said that the only mantra for development is special status and it is our right which we are being denied.
"We have to join hands and fight for our right as it is only through special status that we get more employment opportunities and economic activity which will lead to increase in standard of living and quality of life. Uttarakhand, after getting special status, has got over 2,000 industrial units with the inflow of over 30,000 crore investments creating numerous jobs and there was an increase of 490 % in employment opportunities.
This clearly shows that jobs will be created, employment opportunities will be increased, industries and investments will come in and with a 972-km long coastline, the economy will boom and every section will be part of the development process.
Chandrababu Naidu has been trying hard to impress that the era of special status is a bygone one. But that is a blatant lie. In a written reply to our MP YV Subba Reddy, the Centre has said in July 2015 that the Government has no intention to withdraw the special category status which is in force in 11 states of the country. This calls the bluff of Chandrababu Naidu.
The beneficiaries of the special status will be the youth and students who will be looking forward for jobs as the promise was made to compensate the loss we occurred by losing Hyderabad in the process of division of the state.
There was an assurance given by the Prime Minister and a cabinet decision was taken and sent to the concerned authorities. All that is needed is a signature by the Prime Minister and the will of the State Government to pursue the matter. The special status issue was incorporated in the manifesto of the TDP-BJP combine and even said it would increase the term from five years to ten years.
This is not being done as Chandrababu Naidu has placed his personal gains ahead of public interests and has compromised after his involvement in numerous scams, more so the cash for vote scam.
If special status is accorded the state will get 90 % of the funding in the form of grants, which need not be repaid besides exemptions and tax holidays which encourages big industrial houses to set up their business units in the state which in turn will throw open more employment opportunities to the youth,’ he said addressing a packed auditorium. Permission was denied to hold interaction with students in the university campus.
During the division of the state, it was announced that Andhra Pradesh has 1,42,808 jobs but there was no APPSC notification nor was the employment calendar announced and on the contrary 35,000 field assistants were sacked and the staff of Arogyamitra are being threatened to be sacked.
The Arogyamitra staff was recruited through an online examination and Anganwadi workers are also on strike seeking pay hike and regularization. The government is not showing any interest though Chandrababu Naidu during electioneering has promised to provide jobs to every household failing which unemployment stipend would be paid. Nothing has materialized even 20 months after TDP coming to power.
There is lot of talk on special package which finds no mention before elections and all the assurances put together is being offered as a special package which is nothing additional and no match to special status.
There is another propaganda going that that special status states will get limited resources which is wrong. The devolution of funds is being done under the DR Gadgil formula which was later improvised and came to be known as Gadgil-Mukherjee formula and special category states will get large number of benefits which will pave way for development.
This government is insensitive and intends to drag the issue to put it to sleep. Instead of going to Singapore and Malaysia, it is better if Chandrababu Naidu sits in the Prime Minister’s office and he insists on the special status which he will not do due to personal reasons.
We have to fight for our rights and with the support of youth, who will be the beneficiaries of special status, we shall mount pressure on the government to attain special status," he said.
