Andhra Pradesh members today got opportunity to raise their issues in Zero hour in Parliament got nothing in return. Zero hour is free for all time between 12 noon to 1 pm. Members can raise any issue, but government is not obliged to respond. Generally, inconsequential statements are given as response. This happened on Tuesday in Lok Sabha when AP members raised special status issue.
YSRCP Parliamentary Party leader & Nellore MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy demanded a clear and categorical statement on people’s demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.
Raising issue in teh zeor hour under rulee 377 , Reddy sought to drawn the NDA government’ attention to the on-going agitation across state for the speical category status to AP.
He stressed that Special Status to AP must be immediately announced. He reminded the House how the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s assured the parliament at the time of bifurcation of the states that Andhra Pradesh would be given ‘Special Status’ for five year. He also recalled how leaders of the then Opposition Party such as Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley BJP, while supporting the bifurcation, said 5 years was not be enough and special status should be accorded for at least 10 years.
“BJP leaders, who were so insistent on the special status then, said if he demand was not fulfilled then, the coming NDA government would declare 10 years ‘special status to AP, ” he said.
“Now that NDA had come to power as they anticipated, NDA Government must fulfill its promise,” he added.
He said that due to bifurcation of the state, AP lost capital and the deprived of secretariat, and revenue loss.
” people are expecting a categorical reply on the issue. We are not able to show our faces to the people as the NDA has backed out on the demand,” he added.
He expressed displeasure that conflicting statements from many ministers was creating confusion.
” A minister says special status is under consideration. Planning minister says no state would be given spacial status,” he said.
TDP Anakapalli MP Muttamsetti (Avanti) Srinivas also raised the issue.Listing out the problems being faced by the Andhra Pradesh and TDP government ambitious plan to develop residuary Andhra Pradeh, he said according special status was only way out for a state which had no capital, no secretariat and in major institution.
Earlier, in the question-hour Home Minister Rajnath Singh responded and said NDA government would do whatever due for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Responding to the members demand, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu said center was trying to resolve all the issues.” The issues raised by members such as special status and bifurcation of separate High Court are genuine but are complicated. The centre is debating how to go about,” Naidu said. Nothing concrete resulted from the Zero Hour mention.
