Vijayawada: YSR Congress party MLC and Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, Ummareddy Venkateshwarlu said that the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is the main obstacle for achieving Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. He said that the status had been accorded to more than 10 states in the country. At the time of bifurcation, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said that SCS would benefit all sections of people of the state and even demanded 15 years of SCS to Andhra Pradesh, the MLC said. After coming to power, both PM Modi and Chandrababu changed their stance on the issue of SCS, Venkateshwarlu added.

Even though Prime Minister chaired the erstwhile Planning Commission for seven months before the formation of NITI Aayog, he could not take a decision on the SCS, the YSRCP leader asserted. Chandrababu has completely ignored the interests of the state during its alliance with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), he criticized.

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Under the leadership of our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, we have conducted several programs to demand SCS for the state, the MLC remarked. The TDP leaders threatened students and employees of booking them under PD Act cases if they participated in the SCS protests, he noted. "Was it not unfair to detain Leader of Opposition YS Jagan at Vizag airport while he was travelling to participate in a candle light protest for the state?" he asked. YS Jagan met PM Modi, Governor and the President to discuss the need for granting SCS to the state of Andhra Pradesh, he added.