Sharmila questions ‘kingmaker’ Naidu’s silence on SCS

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila on Monday asked why NDA ‘kingmaker’ and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is not talking about the Special Category Status (SCS) for the state. She demanded that the TDP chief answer to the people for his silence on the SCS.

“Nitish Kumar has resolved and presented the demand for SCS for Bihar before Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) but Naidu is not even opening his mouth on SCS for AP (Andhra Pradesh),” Sharmila said in a press release.

Recalling that Naidu is a “kingmaker” of the NDA government at the Centre, she asked if he “doesn’t know” that the capitalless state of Andhra Pradesh is “more backward than Bihar”.

“Don’t you remember the time when you were demanding 15-year SCS status and you (Naidu) yourself were saying that the state had regressed by 20 years,” Sharmila said.

She also wondered why the chief minister is not “threatening” to withdraw support from the Centre if it does not grant SCS to the state. The PCC chief advised Naidu to pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly for SCS and take this demand to the Centre.

Sharmila stressed that SCS is the only way forward for the development of the state, but not special packages.