The hopes expressed by some YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders on Saturday that theUnion government might at last consider the grant of Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh, on finding it among the list of items to be discussed by a dispute resolution sub-committee in its first meeting scheduled for February 17, were short-lived as SCS and three other items were missing from a revised notice issued in the evening.
The committeewas constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) to resolve pending disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Original agenda
In the original agenda, SCS, development grant for seven backward districts in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, tax incentives and resource gap were listed along with AP State Finance Corporation, settlement of power utilities of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, removal of anomalies in taxation, distribution of cash balance and bank deposits, cash credits of Civil Supplies Corporations as items for discussion, but they were removed later.
After the initial notice, YSRCP leaders claimed that the SCS was not a closed chapter and its inclusion in the agenda was a positive sign that it (SCS) might become a reality.
In a quick reaction, Machilipatnam MP V. Balashowry and MLA Ambati Rambabu said the mention of SCS rekindled the hope that the Centre might eventually give its nod by recognising it as a legitimate right of the successor State of Andhra Pradesh, and upon requests made by the Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao clarified that the committee would not discuss SCS as it was not a bilateral issue and it the committee was mandated to sort out only financial matters between the two States.
He quoted senior officials in the Union Home Ministry as saying that issues which were not bilateral in nature would not be discussed and that their inclusion in the agenda was the result of an administrative oversight.
Centre’s focus
Mr. Rao said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already stated in Parliament that bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was done in a shoddy manner and he was aware of the difficulties faced by the people.
For this very reason, the Modi government had already laid special focus and was providing funds to Andhra Pradesh, he added.
