Hinting that he was disappointed with Pawan Kalyan's failure to follow up on the report by the Joint Fact-Finding Committee (JFC) in Andhra Pradesh, Lok Satta party chief Jayaprakash Narayan announced that another panel has been formed.
Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, Jayaprakash said that the new panel will follow up on the JFC's findings as Pawan had been 'inconsistent' in his approach to get Central funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh.
The Independent Group of Experts (IGE) comprises retired IPS officers C Anjaneya Reddy and HJ Dora, 14th Finance Commission member M Govinda Rao, Secretary General of Farmers Union P Chengal Reddy, Professor S Galab from the CESS, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh Justice MN Rao and former Chief Secretary of AP Kaki Madhava Rao among others.
“We will continue what the JFC started. The panel will do a more detailed analysis of the available data and look at aspects that the first Committee might have overlooked," the Lok Satta chief told reporters.
There are three things the experts will consider. First, they will deconstruct how much of the AP Reorganisation Act was implemented and what promises made by the Prime Minister on the Floor of the House were fulfilled.
Jayaprakash said that secondly, the IGE will also try to talk to officials of the Prime Minister’s Office or Finance Ministry for more details, while its third job would be to study the need for autonomy to states.
Taking to Twitter, Pawan later said, “I respect and welcome Lok Satta’s Jayaprakash garu’s initiative to continue the spirit of JFC with an independent committee, comprising a team of public policy experts to probe deeper into the AP Reorganisation Act and the issue of Special Category Status.”
I respect & welcome Loksatta’s ’Sri JayaPrakash Garu’s’ initiative to continue the spirit of JFC with an independent committee comprises of a team of Public policy experts to probe more deeper into AP Bifurcation act & on issue of Spl. Category Status.
— Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) March 30, 2018
Responding to the Jana Sena party chief’s tweet, Jayaprakash said, “We all – governments, legislatures, parties and civil society – need to do our best to resolve disputes and improve our governance and federal system. I truly believe that most of AP’s issues can be resolved with goodwill and common sense.”
Earlier this month, the JFC said that there was 'no alternative' to the Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh and also pointed out that the Centre's claims that the 14th Finance Commission had abolished the concept in its recommendations, was not true.
The 20-member committee formed following a call given by Pawan Kalyan said they aimed to fight against the injustice meted out to both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, post bifurcation.