By Surya Kumar
Visakhapatnam: Barring attempts to save the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jana Sena Party (JSP) alliance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh ended on Saturday with the opposition parties describing his address on Saturday in Visakhapatnam as a big disappointment.
His failure to speak on promises made at the time of carving out Telangana from the united AP and the plea to merge Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) had a telling effect on the public.
The public was upset at the repetition of the hollow development mantra. He spoke about a few projects like PM Gatishakti to improve the infrastructure and launching/inauguration/dedication of various ongoing schemes worth over Rs.15,000 crore.
The ruling YSRCP leaders including its strongman V. Vijaya Sai Reddy had made concerted efforts to mobilise crowds but the PM did not make any specific announcement for either Andhra Pradesh in general or Visakhapatnam, the leading industrial and commercial hub of the State, in particular.
The BJP national spokesman and Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao poured cold water on the outcome of the PM-Pavan Kalyan meeting by saying that “It was a routine affair. No special significance should not be attached to it.”
Pawan Kalyan also said that it was a courtesy call. He however added that everything, including a political alliance would be discussed at the appropriate time. But sources within the Jana Sena of Pawan Kalyan said the alleged harassment of opposition leaders and activists figured prominently at the meeting.
“The visit was a big disappointment as the Prime Minister did not make any specific announcement on the grant of Special Category Status, Special Package for North Andhra, BJP’s promise to retain Amaravati as common capital, conceding to the demand of employees of RINL or the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) to keep it in the public sector,” TDP politburo member and former minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrud, said.
Though the BJP leaders initially stated that the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stone for South Coast Railway (SCoR), a new zone promised by Modi in 2019 with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, it did not figure in his itinerary. However, the Railways announced a sanction of Rs.106 crore for the construction of the zonal headquarters.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and East Coast Railway General Manager Roop Narayan Sunker had inspected on Thursday evening the area where the zonal headquarter buildings are planned. “We were thoroughly disappointed as the Prime Minister did not announce a specific timeline to operationalise the new zone-one of the main demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation,” Railway Zone Sadhana Samiti convener and CPI State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy, told Siasat.com.
| 
