Govt non-committal on special status for Andhra even as TDP demands

Notwithstanding demands by various parties, including ruling NDA ally TDP, the government on Friday remained non-committal on granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh but promised in Rajya Sabha to “hand hold” the revenue-deficit state to enable it to progress on its own.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured the House that the the government is committed to keeping all its promises and will fulfill all its responsibilities as far as hand holding Andhra Pradesh was concerned.

Jaitley was responding to a discussion on the ‘Status of implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 and government assurances’ during which TDP and several other parties pressed for grant of special category status to the state in the wake of carving out of Telangana state two years back.

He said the special status promise was not in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 but was made by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the floor of the House and the government is now seeing what has to be done.

However, he added, “For some period, Andhra Pradesh needs hand holding. The Centre will fulfill all the responsibilities it has towards hand holding Andhra to (help it) reach a level where it can be on its own.”

Much to the surprise of the House, TDP leader and Minister Y S Chowdary chipped in during Jaitley’s reply to seek a resolution by the House for time-bound implementation of the promises made by the previous central government.