Hyderabad: Chief Minister designate of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant Special Category Status (SCS) to his state but admitted that it will not be easy to force the centre to accept the demand given the overwhelming majority the BJP secured.
Reddy, who led his YSR Congress to a landslide victory in the state assembly elections met the Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on Sunday and discussed a wide range of issues. He also invited Modi to attend his swearing-in ceremony next week.
Modi welcomed Jagan with a warm hug while Jagan presented a shawl to the Prime Minister as a mark of respect.
Later, addressing a media conference Jagan said that he explained to the Prime Minister the necessity of Andhra Pradesh getting the SCS as the bifurcation of the state had left it without much resources.
But he was pragmatic enough to admit that it was not going to be easy given the fact that the BJP had won 303 of the 542 seats in Lok Sabha and did not need anybody’s support.
“The situation would have been different If the BJP had been limited to 250 seats in national election. We would have supported BJP only after they signed special category status document. We would not have had to depend so much on centre. But now they don’t need us. We did what we could and told him our situation,” Jagan said.
Jagan had based his campaign against the N. Chandrababu Naidu government in the state on his failure in forcing the centre to accept the demand for SCS and promised to get it. SCS was also the reason for the breakdown of TDP-BJP alliance as Modi government repeatedly refused to grant the status though he had promised it in the run up to 2014 elections.
While Jagan had calculated that a hung Parliament will give him a leverage to use his own MPs to extract the SCS, the landslide victory of BJP put paid to his hopes. Though YSRCP won 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, BJP has not left any scope for any bargaining.
(Jagan also told the meeting of his newly elected MPs in Amaravati on Saturday that they should continue their fight and if need be they should be ready to resign from Parliament to bring pressure on the centre.)
Jagan, who would be sworn in as the Chief Minister on May 30 in Vijayawada’s Indira Gandhi Stadium, told a crowded press conference that he briefed the Prime Minister that in the present situation the state very much needs the cooperation from the centre. “I told him how long the state would survive on overdraft,” he said.
“At the time of the bifurcation of the state, we had a debt of Rs970 billion (Dh51.6 billion) but during the five year rule of Chandrababu Naidu it has gone up to Rs2,570 billion,” Jagan said. “I told the Prime Minister that debt servicing itself was costing Rs200 billion.”
Jagan said that the Prime Minister responded positively and assured his help.
After the meeting Modi tweeted, “had an excellent meeting with Andhra Pradesh’s CM designate @ysgan. We had a fruitful interaction on several issues pertaining to AP’s development. Assured him all possible support from the centre during his term”.
Jagan also said that his government will bring revolutionary changes in the system over the next six months to one year and make the state a model for the country. On the relations with the opposition Telugu Desam Party, he said, “I have nothing against Chandrababu Naidu. My duty is that of custodian.”
Friendship with Telangana
Earlier on Saturday Jagan had a warm meeting with Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and invited him to his swearing in. The two discussed various issues including the vexatious question of sharing of river waters. Families of both the leaders were present on the occasion. It was an emotional trip down memory lane for Jagan as the official residence of Telangana Chief Minister was built during his father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s tenure. During the chief ministership of his father, Jagan used to visit and stay in the same place. Y.S.R. family had left the place in October 2009 after Y.S.R. died in a helicopter crash.
According to an official press release K.C.R. assured Jagan that Telangana would maintain cordial relations with Andhra Pradesh like other neighbouring state. “Give and take approach will be followed,” he told the young leader.
On the river water issue K.C.R. told him that if the waters of rivers Godavari and Krishna were properly used both the states would benefit. “From river Godavari about 3500 tmcft of water every year is flowing into the sea. Telangana state can make use of maximum 700-800 tmc of water only. Rest of water Andhra Pradesh can make use of,” he said.
Official sources said that K.C.R. will attend Jagan’s oath-taking ceremony. On Sunday he, accompanied by his family members, left for Tirupati to offer prayers at the famous Tirumala temple.
