Why are Jagan and Naidu not questioning BJP on bifurcation promises, asks Sharmila

Why are Jagan and Naidu not questioning BJP on bifurcation promises, asks Sharmila. In Andhra Pradesh, BJP stands for ‘Babu, Jagan, Pawan’, says the APCC chief. There will be development and employment in the State only if SCS is accorded.

None of the promises made to the State in the A.P. Reorganisation Act has been fulfilled by the BJP-led government at the Centre, and yet the ruling YSRCP and the Opposition TDP have become slaves to the saffron party, says APCC president Y.S. Sharmila.

Speaking at the ‘Nyaya Sadhana Sabha’ organised by the party here on March 7 (Thursday), Ms. Sharmila said her foray into Andhra politics should not be seen as a step taken by her for any political gain.

“If it is so, I should have come in 2019 itself. It is because the State does not have one leader who can fight for Special Category Status (SCS) that I stepped in. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has given an assurance that he would help the State get SCS,” she said.

Ms. Sharmila lambasted both TDP and YSRCP for not raising their voice on the promises, including projects worth ₹15 lakh crore.

“The promises made to the State such as SCS, Polavaram project, steel factory in Kadapa, Visakhapatnam railway zone, Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, Dugarajapatnam port, special economic package for Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra have not been fulfilled. And yet, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu toe the line of the BJP,” she said, adding that there would be development and employment in the State only if SCS was accorded.

She lambasted Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy for not saying a word against the Centre when atrocities were being committed against people of his religion in Manipur.

“The BJP does not have a single MLA or MP in Andhra Pradesh. But it still rules it. BJP stands for Babu, Jagan and Pawan,” she said.