VISAKHAPATNAM: MP GVL Narasimha Rao on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving three times more funds in 2020-21 (Rs 77,538 crore) to Andhra Pradesh than what the State was given in 2014-15 (Rs 27,294 crore).
Participating in a debate on Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP MP said in 2020-21, the Centre had collected around Rs 55,000 crore as direct and indirect taxes from Andhra Pradesh and it released over Rs 77,538 crore to the State. “The YSRC government is doing no development work in the State. The only development happening in the State is under the Central schemes,” he argued. The Centre has doubled the length of national highways in Andhra Pradesh from 4,193 km to 8,183 km, investing Rs 35,000 crore.
Kapu reservation
GVLNarasimha Rao demanded that the AP government implement OBC reservation for Kapus. Raising the issue of reservations for Kapus during zero hour, he said the Kapus in AP were backward both socially and educationally. Though Kapus constitute 18 per cent of Andhra Pradesh population, they were denied the fruits of development. Kapus were declared as BCs during British rule in 1915. But Kapus were deleted from BC list in 1956 when Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was chief minister.
“Kapus have been agitating demanding reservation for the last two decades. In 2017, the state Assembly approved a bill granting 5 per cent reservation for Kapus. Though the State has powers to identify backward classes for reservations in education and jobs, the government has sent the bill to the Centre for approval, to pass the buck,” he alleged. The state government should implement reservations for Kapus immediately, he demanded.
No relaxation for civil Service students due to Covid
Minister of State in the PMO Jitender Singh said there was no proposal to relax the age limit and put a ceiling on number of attempts to those who appear for civil services exams. In a written reply to a query by YSRC MP Vijayasai Reddy, the minister said some candidates approached the Supreme Court urging it to direct the Centre to give age relaxation and more attempts in view of the Covid situation. However, after reviewing the court order the government found that it was not possible to give age relaxation and more attempts to civils candidates. At present, there was no proposal with the government in that regard, the minister told the YSRC MP.
Revoke 5% GST on yarn: YSRC MP to centre
Raising the issue of the handloom sector in the Lok Sabha, YSRC MP Pilli Subhad Chandra Bose said the hanoom industry was now facing its deepest crisis. The weavers were demanding strict implementation of the handloom act in which 11 items were exclusively reserved for handloom industry, revocation of five per cent GST on yarn, purchasing of handloom cloth by all India handloom marketing societies and national textile corporation, revival of Deendayal health card without the eligibility condition
of `30 lakh annual turnover.