Seeking a debate on Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh, Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao moved a private member resolution in the Rajya Sabha, which will come up for debate on Friday evening.
The debate will also include talk on the Centre's stand on fulfilling provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
“As a citizen of Andhra Pradesh and leader of the Congress and partner of UPA, I strongly believe that we will be able to secure the coveted SCS. As far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned, the special category status is going to be the agenda and all political parties except the BJP have announced their support to the State in this regard,” KVP told reporters in New Delhi.
The demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh has been strongly articulated by the ruling TDP and the opposition YSR Congress Party in the state. The Congress has also supported the demand for the state that will go to the Assembly polls along with Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
In February this year, Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao created a commotion in the Rajya Sabha after he protested in the Well of the House, against the injustice done to the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget.
Holding a placard that read ‘Help Andhra Pradesh’, Rao created a ruckus, following which Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien threatened to penalise the Congress leader.
Kurien even ordered Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad to ask him to return to his seat, reportedly asking at one stage, “What is wrong with him? Has he gone mad?”
Speaking to reporters later, Rao said that he was forced to protest due to the lack of budgetary allocations to Andhra Pradesh.
He also pointed out that Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu had argued for a special status to Andhra, when they were in the opposition during the time of the state's bifurcation.
In 2016, the Congress MP raised the special status issue through a Private Member's Bill in Rajya Sabha and said that the BJP betrayed the people of AP by going back on the promise of granting special status.