AP: Sharmila accuses PM Modi of failing to meet ‘special status’ promise

Anantapur: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress state chief YS Sharmila accused him of betraying the people of the state.

Addressing party supporters at a meeting in Anantapur on Friday, the PCC chief, who happens to be the sister of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and was formerly with the ruling YSRCP, said PM Modi failed to live up to his promise of a ‘special status’ for Andhra Pradesh while also not sanctioning promised funds for developing the state capital–Amravati.

Apart from railing against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, the Congress leader outlined the party’s guarantee for the welfare of the weaker sections. She added that the grand old party, which is eyeing a return to the helm in Andhra in the upcoming Assembly elections, will lay out its development plans for the state before the people on March 1.

She claimed that PM Modi promised a ‘special status’ for Andhra at a recent public meeting in Tirupati.

She added that a ‘special status’ for the state would go a long way in meeting the pressing needs of the people.

In a veiled swipe at PM Modi, she came down heavily against those who ‘exploit’ the issue and sentiment around the demand for ‘special status’ for ‘political gain’.

The PCC chief said the Congress, while campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, promised to grant a special constitutional status to Andhra for 5 years, adding that the BJP, on the other hand, vowed a similar status for the state for 10 years.

She added that the grand old party would raise a renewed pitch for ‘special status’ at the same venue later.

Also invoking PM Modi’s promise to make the state a hardware hub and set up a Petroleum Research Centre, Sharmila rued the ‘lack of progress’ on these fronts.

Raising the Centre’s ‘failed’ promise to contribute monetarily to the development of a ‘dream capital’ of Andhra, Sharmila said if PM Modi continues to ‘deceive’ the state, both the ruling party and the Congress will come out strongly against the Centre.

She said the unfulfilled demand for a ‘special status’ has set the state back by ’25 years’ when compared to some other states that had been granted a similar status.

Citing Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh as examples of states that profited from the Centre’s hand-holding and saw an industrial boom, Sharmila questioned why Andhra should lag while other states mark forward strides.