Speaking after formally launching a hunger strike by the party’s State secretariat member Ch. Babu Rao and others in protest against “Centre’s apathy to the cause of Amaravati”, the new capital of the residual Andhra Pradesh State, here, Mr. Rao referred to the Prime Minister’s claims made in the Rajya Sabha, and said that bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was not possible without the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He said Mr. Modi, who had suddenly developed emotions for people of Andhra Pradesh after eight years of the bifurcation, should answer to the people of the State and the entire nation what he had done to help the residual State to recover from the division-inflicted losses.
He said both the Centre and the YSR Congress Party government in the State had “utterly neglected” Amaravati, the new capital of the State. While the ruling parties in the neighbouring Telangana and Tamil Nadu were vocal about the injustices meted out to their respective governments by the Centre, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had remained a silent spectator, Mr. Rao alleged.
Mr. Rao said only the Left parties had the courage to take on the Centre. He slammed the Centre for ignoring the interests of the people in A.P. in the recently-presented Union Budget. There was no mention of the Special Category Status promised to the State and neither any funds were allocated for Polavaram and the new Central institutions sanctioned to the State.
