YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday weighed in on the public spat between BJP chief Amit Shah and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
In a statement to the media, Jagan weighed in on the spat and said that Special Package and Special Category Status cannot be equated.
On Saturday, Amit Shah unleashed an attack on Naidu and alleged that the TDP's decision to quit the NDA was unilateral and "guided wholly and solely by political considerations instead of development concerns".
Speaking in the Assembly, Naidu claimed that the letter attacked the people of Andhra Pradesh and was full of ‘false information, lies and half-truths'.
Throwing his hat into the ring, Jagan said, "It is pertinent to note that the details of the letter are baffling. The fallacy lies in the very premise of presuming that the Special Package is in lieu of Special Category Status (SCS) and equating the two without taking the salient features of SCS into account.
"Without taking into consideration the incentives that come with the SCS and the fact that the state debt has risen from Rs 97,000 crore (accumulated through 60 years) to Rs 2.25 lakh crore in the past four years due to financial indiscipline, how can anyone equate SCS to Special Package?" Jagan asked.
Stating that cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad took over 60 years to be developed, Jagan asked, "How can we attract investors to create IT hubs, set up industries or hospitals in the face of the stiff competition of the neighbouring state capitals?"
Jagan also pointed out that both the BJP and the TDP had promised SCS to the state as part of their election manifesto.
"Now, BJP claims that it has done a lot for Andhra while Naidu claims that nothing has been done for the state. The raging debate yields nothing and it is only SCS that will bring in development to the state. Do not ignore the fact that the future generation would be getting jobs only if industries come up in a big way, which is possible only with SCS," Jagan said.
"SCS is our right, do not be cheated with Special Package. SCS is our lifeline, without which our state cannot progress. Hence, our struggle will continue beyond no-confidence, resignations and it will be accelerated further to achieve the intended goal," the YSRCP chief added.
Disputing Shah's claim that the Central government extended all help to the state, Naidu on Saturday dared him to come out with facts and respond to the points raised by him in his earlier letter.
The TDP chief read out excerpts from the letter written by him and Shah's reply to the same in the Assembly. Naidu made a point-by-point rebuttal to assert that the Central government failed to come to the state's rescue.
The TDP walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on March 16. On March 8, the TDP pulled out its two ministers -- Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary -- from the Narendra Modi government.
The TDP and YSRCP have moved their individual no-confidence motions against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha, which has not being taken up as the House has been repeatedly adjourned due to the unending uproar.