Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has urged people's organisations and political parties to agitate peacefully for securing the promised special category status (SCS) to the state and refrain from any activities which will mar the progress of the State, already in a very difficult position in the aftermath of bifurcation.

All-party meeting

He was speaking at an all-party meeting at Amaravati on Tuesday, called by the ruling Telugu Desam Party to discuss the issue of special category status.

The differences among the political parties in the State became evident, as the main opposition party, YSR Congress Party, and the Jana Sena Party of film star Pawan Kalyan decided to stay away, stating that the all-party meet at this juncture served no purpose and the ruling party was not really sincere. The Congress Party, the two left parties (CPI and CPM) and Lok Satta attended the all-party meet besides several organisations like the Struggle Committee for Special Category Status.

CPM leader P. Madhu questioned the Chief Minister why he had not convened an all-party meet earlier and why it had taken him four long years to realise that the BJP was not really sincere and the promises would not be fulfilled.

In response, the Chief Minister explained to him that he had struck up an alliance with the BJP in 2014 only to serve the interests of the State and he had given the BJP a very long rope, as he did not want to rock the boat and harm the interests of the State. "I did everything possible to secure the interests of the State as best as I could, but when it became clear that the BJP was only dodging the issues, I came out of the alliance. I shall not compromise on the interests of the State," he said.

The Congress leaders and others who participated in the meet expressed their full support to the Chief Minister in his struggle for the special category status.

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