Amaravati, Sep 7: Telugu film actor- turned-politician Pawan Kalyan is all set to rock the stage on September 9 at his Kakinada meeting. During Pawan’s recent Tirupathi Jana Sena public meeting, Pawan announced that he is likely to demand special status to Andhra Pradesh. On 27 August, Pawan had addressed a public meeting in the temple town where he took the BJP and the TDP to the cleaners for not granting special status, as promised, to Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Union Government of India said that it would not be possible to grant a special status to Andhra Pradesh but would offer special financial package to the state that would be equal to “Special Status”. The Central government on technical grounds is refusing to give special status to Andhra Pradesh and plans to announce a package shortly.(ALSO READ: Special status no panacea, 9 other states want it: M Venkaiah Naidu)
Granting the special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh would mean that the state can give better tax incentives to industries and the Centre would bear 90 percent expenditure on many projects. As the Centre has made its stand clear on granting ‘Special Status”, all eyes are now on Pawan Kalyan as to what would his next move be. Questions that arise in mind are will he still fight for it? Or will he cancel the Kakinada meeting on September 9, which was mainly kept for the very same reason of granting special status.(ALSO READ: Chandrababu Naidu hits out at ally BJP over Andhra Pradesh special status private bill)
In August, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had made a statement on the demand for special category status for Andhra Pradesh after repeated demands from YSR Congress. Jaitley said Andhra Pradesh has been left in an disadvantaged position following the bifurcation of the state. The government is at a fairly advanced stage of discussions with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on the issue and will to arrive at a conclusion shortly. Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that nine other states have demanded the “Special Category State” status from the Centre.(ALSO READ: Special Status to Andhra Pradesh: Centre finding solution, in talks with CM Chandrababu Naidu, says Arun Jaitley)
The then prime minister Manmohan Singh had promised special status to Andhra Pradesh for five years. During Bharatiya Janata Party’s election campaigns, Venkaiah Naidu said the BJP would give it for 10 years. The Finance Ministry and neighbouring states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu however raised objections and the special status has, however been denied.