Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu will visit New Delhi in the first week of April and meet representatives of several political parties and discuss his state's demand of being granted Special Category Status (SCS).
This came a day after the TDP President held an all-party meeting in Amaravati to discuss the issue. Both, the YSRCP and Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena party, boycotted the meeting and criticised it. The TDP's former ally, the BJP, also abstained from the meet.
"Meeting is convened as emergency to take everyone's suggestions and decide how to go forward in Parliament. We have invited organisations that fought for the state during bifurcation and the ones fighting now," Naidu reportedly said at the meet.
While the Left parties said that they would hold their own series of protests without associating with the TDP, Congress leaders extended support to the state government, saying that they were doing it in the interest of the people.
The meeting in Amaravati also unanimously adopted a resolution, which urged the Centre to fulfil provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, and implement the assurances made by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Parliament.
The leaders also said that SCS was the state's legal right.
Meanwhile, demanding that TDP MPs must resign from Parliament to send a strong message to the Centre on SCS, YSR Congress Party President YS Jaganmohan Reddy said that Naidu had made every effort to scuttle the issue during the last four years and he had no moral right to call for an all-party meeting.
“We held protests, dharnas and I sat on an indefinite fast seeking SCS. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to arrive, Naidu ordered my arrest and foiled my fast. Today, the same Naidu shamelessly calls for an all-party meeting,” Jagan said.
“He has no moral right to call for an all-party meeting and the only option left for him is to follow our path and ask all his MPs to quit Parliament by the end of this session along with our members, and the en masse resignations of 25 MPs would create a situation where the Centre has to yield to our demand,” he added.