Jagan to plead for Andhra Pradesh Special Category Status yet again

Reddy held an official review to decide on the state's issues needing discussion in the Tirupati meeting and the special status provision is one among them

The dormant demand of special category status (SCS) for Andhra Pradesh could resurface in the Southern Zonal Council meeting to be held on 14 November in Tirupati.

Union home minister Amit Shah would be chairing the meeting, which would be attended by the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar and the administrator of Lakshadweep.

The meeting was earlier planned in March but was postponed. Zonal Council meetings are intended for a better Centre-States co-operation, and to build a conducive environment amongst the States for speedy execution of interstate etc., development projects.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy held an official review to decide on the state's issues needing discussion in the Tirupati meeting and the special status provision for Andhra Pradesh is one among them.

SCS, to support the state's industrial and overall growth, is a seven-year-old demand which even became an election issue during the 2019 assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP exited the NDA government and parted ways with the BJP in 2018 after the Narendra Modi administration refused to accord SCS.

Though the YSRCP managed to win 22 Lok Sabha seats out of 25 from Andhra Pradesh and also formed the government in the state, Reddy had on few occasions admitted that he “is unable to prevail upon the centre for SCS.”

“We are in a helpless position as the BJP led government has a complete majority in the Lok Sabha. We cannot do much except for repeatedly pleading for the SCS,” Reddy had said earlier.

The other matters that Reddy plans to raise in the meeting with the HM and other CMs include the state's revenue shortfall, Polavaram project costs, pending dues from Tamil Nadu for the Telugu-Ganga project, pending arrears in civil supplies from Telangana, the centre's allocation of PDS rice and inclusion of Jurala project under the Krishna River Management Board along with a discussion on the proposal to interlink rivers.

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