Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s attempt to gain political mileage by moving a thanksgiving resolution in the assembly for the Union cabinet nod to the Andhra special package backfired on Thursday with the YSR Congress party putting up a stiff resistance.
While Naidu sought to bury the demand for special category status to AP once and for all by moving a resolution in the assembly thanking Modi and his government, YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy castigated the chief minister for succumbing to the Modi government on special category status.
“Why should we thank the Centre? For not granting special category status?” Jagan asked.
Jagan came down heavily on Naidu for trying to take credit for the Polavaram project, when it was part of the AP Reorganisation Act.
“When Naidu was in power for nine years in the past, he had hardly spent any money on Polavaram. On the other hand, Y S Rajasekhar Reddy government spent thousands of crores on the project even though it had not got the national project status.
In the last three years, Naidu government had spent just Rs 3,000 crore and is shamelessly claiming credit for taking up the project,” Jagan said.
He alleged that Naidu was trying to escape from the demand for special category status by throwing the blame on the 14th finance commission.
As usual, Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao denied mike to Jagan and the YSR Congress party members stormed the podium, raising slogans demanding Special Status category instead of special package.
Finally, Jagan and his legislators did not support the thanksgiving resolution moved by Naidu.
