TDP MPs stage dharna at Parliament; demand special status for AP

New Delhi: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs on Monday staged a dharna at the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex in protest against the denial of Special Category Status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh (AP). .

Earlier, the TDP MPs met at their party office in Parliament and discussed about the strategy to be adopted to bring the pressure on the Centre over special status. MPs have also explored ways to take forward the agitation.

MP Jayadev Galla also participated in the dharna. Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has extended his support to the agitation. Jayadev Galla accused Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of maintaining silence on the issue. Another MP, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, criticized the way the Centre is treating the issue. MP Shivaprasad said they would submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister.

CM Ramesh has once again reiterated that the agitation will continue until the problem is resolved. “We have requested for Prime Minister’s appointment. We’ll decide on future course of action,” he said.

While continuing in the NDA government, TDP has decided to keep up pressure on the Centre for getting special state.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has once again maintained that special status is not panacea for AP, but was very crucial one. Interestingly, recently Naidu categorically said that it was a life-and-death issue for the state. Highlighting his effort to get the special status, Naidu said he visited Delhi 30 times during the past two years. Finding fault with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who said Centre has extended additional funding for new capital city Amaravati, Naidu said nothing extra AP received.

MP Jayadev Galla also participated in the dharna. Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has extended his support to the agitation. Jayadev Galla accused Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of maintaining silence on the issue. Another MP, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, criticized the way the Centre is treating the issue. MP Shivaprasad said they would submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister. CM Ramesh has once again reiterated that the agitation will continue until the problem is resolved.

Diwakar Reddy’s sensational comments

Anantapur MP JC Diwakar Reddy has made sensational remarks saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was treating Chandrababu Naidu as his No 1 enemy. That’s the reason why Centre is not granting funds and special status to AP, he said.

“There are only two leaders in the country who can challenge Narendra Modi. They’re Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. These two leaders can post threat to Modi’s leadership,” he commented.