Congress notices to Centre to yield Special Status for AP immediately

The Congress at last put its foot down on the Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. The Congress said the Special Status for Andhra Pradesh and other promises made under the AP Reorganisation Act should be immediately implemented, the party leaders told Parliament. Notices in this regard were given in the Lok Sabha by Jyotiraditya Scindia and by Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha. Scindia and Azad said the promises made in the name of Parliament to Andhra Pradesh by the then Congress-led UPA government should be implemented immediately. They said the AP Reorganisation Act should be implemented in toto. Prior to the Congress firming up its demand, APCC president Raghuveera Reddy had met the congress leadership in Delhi. The Congress is worried that it would go out of the scene if after splitting the State it would not do justice to Andhra Pradesh, which had been left without a capital and revenue. Besides, without its strong presence in the two Telugu States, the bedrock for the party all these years, it would be sidelined in the rest of the country. Moreover, the party funds have generally come from Andhra Pradesh. The five-star culture of Congress leaders all over the country has its source in Andhra Pradesh. AK Antony, former Kerala Chief Minister and Union Minister, had during a visit to Hyderabad was shocked by the five-star lifestyle of Congress leaders. The loss of AP is the end of the Congress, say observers.