Amaravati: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said it would give a fitting reply to those criticising the Narendra Modi government for "not doing anything" for Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh has been surging ahead on the path of progress thanks to the blessings and total support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party asserted. The BJP said it would exhibit to the people a list of "facts and figures" and projects the Centre had sanctioned for the state.
"A misinformation campaign is being carried out against the Central government saying it had done nothing for AP and had ignored the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. We will go to the people and place all the facts before them," BJP state president Kambhampati Haribabu said.
"Barring three promises, we have fulfilled all the others. In fact, the Centre has given much more to the state than what was provided for in the Reorganisation Act," Haribabu added. The state unit's office-bearers, district presidents and senior leaders of the party held an extensive meeting in Amaravati on Sunday and discussed the ongoing political developments in the state in the aftermath of the presentation of Union Budget 2018-19.
The meeting assumed significance against the backdrop of a slugfest between NDA partners BJP and TDP over Central aid to AP in the last four years.
Addressing the meeting, Haribabu, who is an MP from Visakhapatnam, said only the Dugarajapatnam port, Kadapa steel plant and Visakhapatnam railway zone did not happen though they were promised in the Reorganisation Act. "Though the railway zone at Visakhapatnam was found to be not feasible, the Centre is discussing the issue with neighbouring states to find a way out. We are hopeful that a positive decision will come out soon," he said.
The port and the steel plant were under the "active consideration" of the Centre, Haribabu added. Referring to the renewed demand for grant of special category status (SCS) to AP, the MP said a special economic package that was equivalent to the SCS had been granted to the state.
The dispute over bridging the states revenue deficit (for the year 2014-15) would also be resolved soon, he said, adding that development was possible only through mutual co-operation between the Centre and the state. "It has been so till now and hopefully will continue in future as well," Haribabu said, adding the Narendra Modi government was "fully committed" to help the state grow further.
State Ministers Kamineni Srinivas, P Manikyala Rao, Narsapuram MP Gokaraju Ganga Raju, the BJP floor leader in the Assembly P Vishnu Kumar Raju, MLCs Somu Veerraju, P V N Madhav and other senior leaders attended the meeting. Meanwhile, MLC Veerraju said the BJP was also ready for a debate on what the Centre did for AP in the last four years.
The BJP legislator was reacting to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's announcement on Saturday that he was ready for a debate on the Central assistance to the state. "When we are allies, why go for a public debate? Let him (Chief Minister) invite our state party president and he will give all details. Our president is ready to reveal all facts, so let the Chief Minister call him and talk," Veerraju, a vociferous critic of the TDP, said.
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