HYDERABAD: A day after Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu defended his decision to welcome the special packages being offered to Andhra Pradesh by the Centre in lieu of special category status, his party minister in union cabinet YS Chowdary opined that getting special status will be a loss to the state.
“If you ask my opinion, special packages being offered to us is far better than the incentives the state would have got through special status. In fact, getting special status will be a loss to the state. With special packages we could develop faster,” Chowdary said.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Chowdary lambasted opposition parties for criticising the TDP government for accepting the special packages offered by the Centre and said that these parties without going into the pros and cons of the special packages and special status were misleading the people of the state.
“Let me make it clear that there is no relation between special status and jobs and industrial incentives as being claimed by the opposition parties. They are two different things. The opposition parties should stop misleading people. My appeal to the people is to go through the report available on the net so that all their doubts are clarified,” he said.
According to Chowdary, even if the state is accorded special status it would get grants in the ratio of 60:40 as recommended by Shivraj Singh Chouhan Committee constituted to make recommendations on funding pattern of various Centre’s schemes.