VIJAYAWADA: Launching a tirade against Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BJP MLC Somu Veerraju accused the TDP supremo of double standards on the Special Category Status (SCS) issue. Referring to one of the statements Naidu made, Somu Veerraju sought to know who should be jailed now for seeking SCS. It maybe recalled that Chandrababu Naidu said last year that ‘people who demand SCS to AP should be jailed’.
Speaking to the media at Press Club on Friday, the BJP MLC carried a bundle of newspapers from the last four years to question the CM as to why he had changed his stand on SCS multiple times. He added that Chandrababu Naidu had himself announced that special package was more beneficial to the state than Special Category Status. “His cabinet, in fact, passed a resolution in the Assembly thanking the Centre for special package. Naidu even went on record stating that he was happy with the package as it would have all the provisions that SCS would provide. He said that a mere status would not ensure development, citing examples of North Eastern states that witnessed no progress even with SCS tag. Now, suddenly, he wants SCS. Why these double standards? He should be questioned,” he said.
Veerraju said that despite having no presence in Andhra Pradesh in 2014, BJP fought in Parliament for the rights of the State during bifurcation. “Did YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh or any of the TDP MPs fight? They just silently protested. BJP was the party which worked relentlessly to ensure AP got justice. We -- despite having no presence in the State back then -- had put in efforts to make Polavaram project a reality even as Telangana leaders raised certain objections. The BJP played a pivotal role in the background and I can’t divulge all the details of the discussions that happened with the leaders and officials.” He also showed a letter written by Naidu in 2008 to the then President extending his support for the division of the State. “In the letter, he did not make any mention of ensuring justice to AP that would be formed,” he observed.
Veerraju further lambasted the TDP for creating false hopes among the people regarding the funds that would be provided by the Centre. “When Prime Minister Modi had come to Amaravati, they (TDP) hyped his visit spreading false news that he would announce Rs 1 lakh crore for the capital. I want to ask who had told the story? When the PM brought sacred water and soil from Parliament for Amaravati inauguration with good intentions, they weaved a narrative around it that the State got cheated,” he said. He clarified that the BJP-led NDA was committed to developing Andhra Pradesh, and requested the TDP leaders not to twist the facts for political gains.