AP on the warpath over Special Category Status demand

The post-split Andhra Pradesh that has remained quiet despite the lack of capital and resources is getting into the agitation mode with the Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary declaring in the Rajya Sabha on Friday that even NITI Ayog had ruled out Specail Category Status for AP. Political parties, including the ruling TDP, quickly shifted gears and considered agitation, jointly or severally, to demand Special Category Status immediately, which is the main point in the AP Reorganisation Act crying for implementation. So far, the BJP and NITI Ayog members have been dilly-dallying on the issue, but with the Home Minister declaring emphatically that there was no such possibility, all the people's associations have been alerted. Minister Chaudhary went to the extent of directing KVP Ramachandra Rao, Congress Elder, to withdraw his Private Member's Bill seeking Special Category Status, the Andhra Pradesh Reorgnisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015. It was only the lack of quorum at that point of time that saved the day for the Andhra MPs, who pleaded like a man for the implementation of the Special Category Status for AP, and live to fight for another day. JD Seelam, another Congress Elder, lashed out at his party colleague, Jairam Ramesh, who was instrumental in drafting the AP Reorganisation Bill. The Congress had shown duplicity by mentioning the Special Category Status in the Bill and deleting it in the eventual Act. Despite the Congress duplicity, the Congress MPs and others from the State participated in the debate, demanding SCS for AP. In the State, Tollywood actor Shivaji took the lead by demanding that the TDP should come out of the alliance with the BJP for scrapping the SCS despite the Act of Parliament. The TDP and other parties condemned the Central attitude. The other parties are also gearing up for an agitational approach in this regard. They went into immediate confabulations on the agitational path. While the people are for an agitation, the political parties somehow appeared to be lukewarm. The people's associations are, however, determined to go ahead with the agitation, confident that the political parties would have to join them eventually. An agitation on the SCS seemed to be a certainty now.