Special Category Status is now Jagan's responsibility

With the passing of a resolution by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly under the chief ministership of the Y S Jaganmohan Reddy urging the Centre to grant the Special Category Status (SCS) and not the package offered by the Narendra Modi government, the onus is now on the young leader to achieve the status.

The earlier Telugu Desam Party government had failed to secure the status despite a one-year war that it led against the BJP government that finally led to the regional party severing ties with the NDA and withdrawing two ministers from the Union cabinet.

The SCS would attract industries to set shop in the state for the sake of tax benefits and exemptions.

Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has always believed that en mass resignations of MPs in the Lok Sabha will draw the attention of the nation towards the problems faced by the residual state.

In 2018 April, five YSRCP MPs quit the Loksabha and continued their fight outside the Parliament house.

Jagan made a pitch for the SCS at the Niti Aayog meeting and explained the situation to the prime minister after winning the elections in the state.

"I even urged Home Minister Amit Shah to impress upon the PM to look into our demand," Jagan told media.

However, he was categorical in saying that the present Modi government, which enjoys a brute majority in Parliament, might not consider the demand for SCS.

However, the opposition TDP, the Left parties and the Congress have started putting pressure on Jagan's government to get the status.

They are now demanding that Jagan ask his MPs to resign as Jagan has said he believes such moves could bring the Centre to its knees.

"We failed to achieve the SCS and the people of the state defeated us and made us to sit in the Opposition. But you got 50% of votes, which means voters believe that you will get the status for them," deputy floor leader of TDP, K Achennaidu, demanded on the floor of the House.

"Why this hurry now? Let the new chief minister settle down and work his way. We gave Naidu a full term to secure the status," said Chalasani Srinivas, president of Andhra Intellectuals Forum, said, urging all the political parties to show restraint.