Naidu should focus on achievement of Special Category Status and other promises instead of harping on ‘Vision 2047’, says Y.S. Sharmila

File photo of APCC president Y. S. Sharmila.
| Photo Credit: G N RAO

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Saturday (December 14) said to put the State back on the rails, the TDP-led coalition government should focus on achievement of the promises made to the people of Andhra Pradesh by the Centre through the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014, rather than projecting distant visions like ‘Vision 2047’.

On the social media platform X, she pointed out that at the time of State bifurcation, the then UPA-led Congress government at the Centre had promised to grant Special Category Status (SCS), accord national status to Polavaram project, grant special financial packages for the backward districts of the State, development of industrial infrastructure and facilities, establish Kadapa steel plant, Dugarajapatnam Port, a new railway zone, a Petroleum University and other infrastructure projects. “Not even a single promise was fulfilled in the last one decade,” she said, adding that denial of SCS had caused immense loss to the State.

The State Congress president said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to grant Andhra Pradesh the bifurcation-related promises, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu contributed further by dismissing SCS as non-essential and failing to take a strong stand on the critical issue. Former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy also failed to utilise the State’s 25 MPs effectively to build pressure on the Centre for fulfilment of the promises it had made, she said.

Ms. Sharmila made an appeal to all political parties raise above differences and collectively fight for achievement of the Special Status.