: Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy lambasted YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday accusing him of trying to lower the image of Andhra Pradesh in the country.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Mr. Krishnamurthy asserted that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Special Category Status for AP prior to bifurcation, but did not incorporate it in the A.P. Reorganisation Act as the Congress lacked concern for the well-being of the State. The State neither got SCS nor the requisite funds in the last 30 months.
The Congress and the YSRC were bent on making the State reel under a financial crisis and create unrest by waging agitations, he alleged at a media conference here.
Mr. Reddy lacked comprehension or clarity on the needs of AP for development and hence stalled the Assembly session, he said.
He played the role of a “villain” in feature films and instigated his party MLAs to attack the Speaker, but spoilt his own image like a filmy villain, he remarked.
The Congress was in coma and would never bounce back, the Deputy Chief Minister remarked. Former Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Jayasuryaprakash Reddy forgot about his vow to quit politics if the State was bifurcated, he said. He was speaking at will now though he was unaware of the SCS issue, but never uttered a word before bifurcation, he said.
Flaying PCC vice-president N. Thulasi Reddy, he said TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao gave him a political career, but he was being thankless by targeting the TDP.
‘A good deal’
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had held discussions with the Centre during the last two and half years, but the latter cited the 14th Finance Commission recommendations and announced a special package of Rs. 2.29 lakh crore in lieu of SCS. As half of the present term elapsed, Mr. Naidu accepted the special package with a view to developing the State.
The Centre agreed to repay foreign project loans to benefit the State beyond the 30 per cent additional funds that would accrue by SCS and to compensate the entire revenue deficit of Rs. 22,000 crore.
No State would prosper without the cooperation of the Central government, he added.
Kurnool Municipal Corporation elections were likely to be held between October and December this year, Mr. Krishnamurthy said and wondered if the Congress had the courage to enter the fray.
The State Government would file a counter in the High Court and move the Supreme Court if needed on the High Court’s order on Swiss Challenge mode of bidding for developing the capital, he said.