Reshmi AR

Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh will be a lifeline and we will not rest till we achieve this objective for our state, said the AP Leader of Opposition, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy addressing a sea of humanity in a public meeting at Kaligiri in Udayagiri constituency, Nellore district on Tuesday. YSRCP leaders will fight for SCS to AP in the upcoming Budget session set to begin from March 5, he said. "The budget session will conclude on April 6 and if our efforts don't yield results then our MPs will resign," said the YSRCP chief amid cheering crowds in Sripotti SriRamulu Nellore district.

The TDP which was mum till now, is now enacting all kinds of dramas, pointed out YS Jagan adding that people were witness to the turn of events following the budget. The last twelve days have been a scene of pure theatrics, he asserted.

There are two Telugu Desam MPs holding central posts. However, they did not object to the raw deal before the budget. Now, this drama doesn't make sense at all, said the YSRCP president, adding, with this, Chandrababu had taken politics to its lowest level. The AP CM did this being aware of the injustice meted out to our state. Chandrababu Naidu boasted that AP had been granted the highest allocation in the budget, to which opposition parties asked him to spell out the details of funds assigned to all states.

Special Category Status is AP's right. Chandrababu wants to forego it for the sake of bribery and settle for a package, he said. The AP CM asked a rhetorical question as to what was to be gained from special status compared to a package on June 6,2017. He claimed that he was the seniormost national leader on the political stage and that there was more to be lost than gained from special status. Chandrababu's seniority helped him to mortgage the interests of the state and brought no benefit to it, the YSRP chief said. Every member of the YSRCP would participate in state wide protests in front of collectorates on March 1, he said.

YS Jagan said that party legislators and MPs would gather at the padayatra point on March 3, from where he would flag them off to Delhi. YSRCP leaders will demand special status and say no to a package near the Parliament on March 5, he asserted. The Leader of Opposition in AP Legislative Assembly said that the struggle would continue till April 6--the last day of the Budget Session of Parliament. He declared that if special status to AP is not granted till then, YSRCP MPs would resign from their Lok Sabha seats and return to the state. "Special status is our lifeline and our party's fight for it will be unrelenting," he said.