VIJAYAWADA: In an interesting political development, APCC chief N Raghuveera Reddy said here on Saturday that his party was prepared to join hands with any party, including the YSRCP, in fighting for securing what was due to Andhra Pradesh from the Centre.
Replying to a question at a news conference on whether the Congress would join hands with the Opposition YSRCP in its fight against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, since it too was fighting for the same cause, Raghuveera Reddy evaded a direct answer but said that he had no qualms in working with anyone who had the same agenda as that of the Congress. “We shall work with any party which has common purpose with us,” Reddy added.
He said that the APCC would stage protests in all the Assembly constituencies across the state on May 26 to press the Centre to grant Special Category Status to AP and for the completion of the Polavaram project by 2018.
Lashing out at the BJP and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not keeping the pre-poll promises to the people of the state, including the grant of SCS to AP and early completion of the Polavaram Project, the APCC chief said that there was nothing that was comforting when one looked back at Modi’s one-year rule. “The BJP said that it would get back to India the entire black money that had been salted away in foreign banks and would bring down the prices of essential commodities. But nothing of the sort has happened and, on the contrary, prices have been going up. Toor Dhal is selling at Rs 130 a kg,” Reddy pointed out.
He ridiculed the BJP saying that while it had said that it would end corruption at all levels, it had inducted 16 ministers into the Cabinet who were facing corruption charges along with 20 others who were facing criminal charges. He alleged that on an average each NDA minister had assets worth Rs 14.25 cr.
Lamabasting the BJP’s state unit for throwing its election manifesto by the wayside and not doing anything to help the state get financial benefit from the Centre. “The BJP state unit had said that it would bring pressurise the Centre to grant SCS to AP but no effort in that direction has been made by it so far,” Reddy pointed out.