VIJAYAWADA: The CPM strongly criticised 16th Finance Commission Chairperson Arvind Panagariya’s statement that the provision of Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh was a “closed chapter.”
CPM State secretary V Srinivasa Rao, in a press release on Thursday, slammed the Centre for betraying the State’s people, who have waited a decade for SCS based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise.
The CPM deplored the 14th Finance Commission’s stance that the SCS was outside its purview, and the 16th Commission’s dismissal, asserting that the Centre, not the NITI Aayog, should address this issue.
The CPM urged Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to pressure the Centre for SCS, and the implementation of all bifurcation promises. He criticised the TDP-led NDA government for not raising these issues in its memorandum submitted to the 16th Finance Commission.
The CPM also slammed the State BJP for requesting the continuation of the current 41% tax devolution, calling it detrimental to Andhra Pradesh’s development, especially when the State government sought 50%.