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Jagan Mohan Reddy meets PM Modi, reiterates special status demand for Andhra Pradesh
A release issued by the CM’s office confirmed that Jagan called on Modi at the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss “various issues related to the state”.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and reiterated his government’s long-pending demand to grant special category status to the state.
The hour-long meeting comes a day after Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu met Union home minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda in Delhi, stirring speculation that the two parties may join hands ahead of elections to the Andhra Pradesh assembly and the Lok Sabha.
An official press release issued by the CM’s office confirmed that Jagan called on Modi at the Prime Minister’s Office in Parliament to discuss “various issues related to the state”.
“Appealed to the Prime Minister regarding release of Polavaram funds, electricity dues from Telangana to AP, guarantees of partition and special status,” the CMO said in a statement.
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According to people familiar with the matter, Jagan reiterated the state government’s demand for granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, as promised at the time of division of the state. “During the meeting, the CM highlighted that the special category status was necessary for the economic progress of the state, as it will not only attract investments but also create better employment opportunities,” an official aware of the developments said, requesting anonymity.
The special category status is one of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, which led to the formation of Telangana in June 2014. Reddy, who swept the 2019 state polls riding on the issue of special category status, has held several meetings with Modi and Shah over the issue in the past.
During the meeting, the CM also urged the Centre to release ₹17,144 crore required for the completion of the first phase of Polavaram irrigation project.
“The CM brought to the notice of the Prime Minister that the Union ministry of finance had agreed to lift the component wise ceiling in the Polavaram project for release of funds. It has agreed to release ₹12,911 crore for the early completion of the first phase of the project,” the CMO said in a statement.
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“However, the chief minister said that the completion of the first phase of Polavaram will cost around ₹17,144 crore, and the proposal for this is already pending in the department of hydropower. He requested Modi to see that the revised proposal be approved immediately,” it added.
The chief minister also sought the intervention of the Prime Minister to ensure that the Telangana government pays power dues worth ₹7,230 crore to Andhra Pradesh for supplying power to the state from 2014 to 2017, the statement said.
“The chief minister brought to the attention of the Prime Minister that the number of districts had now gone up to 26 due to reorganisation of 13 erstwhile districts. The state government had established 17 new medical colleges and classes had already started in some colleges. He requested that the Centre provide adequate support and cooperation regarding the establishment of colleges,” it added.
The CMO said that Jagan also requested PM Modi to provide adequate support for the 55 km 6-lane road connecting Bhogapuram, Bhimili, Rushikonda and Visakhapatnam ports proposed to connect Visakhapatnam with Bhogapuram International Airport. Approval to the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project and extension of the Visakhapatnam-Kurnool High Speed Corridor to Bangalore via Kadapa were also discussed at the meeting.
