Vijayawada: Telangana’s roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Tuesday demanded that the Centre extend special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh state and AP Congress leaders, welcoming the statement, decided to make it a poll issue.
Venkat Reddy extended his support to the SCS demand after meeting representatives of the AP Special Category Status Porata Samithi in the national capital on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Venkat Reddy said he would try his best to prevail upon the Centre to grant SCS to Andhra Pradesh.
APCC president Gidugu Rudra Raju said that the Congress leadership had assured granting SCS to the state besides implementing the assurances given at the time of bifurcation as well as special packages to Rayalaseema and Uttarandhra. “These have not been fulfilled in the ten years of NDA rule at the Centre,” Raju said.
“We are planning to conduct three key meetings. We plan to invite AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge for a meeting in Rayalaseema, senior leaders Rahul Gandhi to Visakhapatnam and Priyanka Gandhi for the meeting at Vijayawada,” Rudra Raju said.
