Have fulfilled most promises made under AP Reorganisation Act: Rajnath
New Delhi, July 24 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that the BJP-led Central government has fulfilled "around 90 per cent" of the commitments made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and was committed to fulfil the rest "at any cost".
"Our government will fulfil all the commitments made not only by our Prime Minister but also those made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he said in Rajya Sabha while replying to a short duration discussion on the implementation of AP Reorganisation Act that carved out the state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former NDA coalition partner, had asked for a discussion on the issue, alleging that "justice" was not being done with the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh in terms of granting it special category status.
In his reply, Rajnath Singh said that he could not understand why some members were stuck with the word "special category status" when the Centre was actually giving Andhra "even those incentives not mentioned in the Act".
"There was some conflict between the commitments made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, and hence it was decided in consultation with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that instead of granting special category status, Andhra Pradesh should be given special assistance.
"The Chief Minister had in September 2016 agreed to this arrangement and said in the state Assembly in a statement that special assistance was more useful than the special category status," he said.
"I would also like to clarify that special category status is different from special industrial incentive. The former does not necessarily include industrial incentive. But the promise of giving the Telugu states industrial incentive has already been fulfilled," he added.
The Home Minister underlined that Andhra was being given Rs 22,123 crore as revenue deficit spread over five years ending FY 2019-20.
He said that out of the 11 higher education institutions promised in the Act for Andhra, 10 have already been approved and many of them "have started functioning", and stressed that the railway zone as promised under the act "will be established".
He said that for the "lifeline" Pollavaram Irrigation Project, the Centre has already released over Rs 6,764 crore and it has also accepted the state's proposal about implementation of the project. He hoped that it will be completed in a "record time".
He said that the Centre even agreed to the state's demand of giving a loan through NABARD but since it could not be given directly for technical reasons, the Andhra government was asked to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the same to whom the loan would be disbursed.
"The state hasn't got back about the SPV so far," he said.
"We want development of all states whether we have our party government there or not. Because we realize that until all states progress, our dream of making India progress will not come true. I would also like to clarify that we don't do politics just to make governments but to build the nation," he said.
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'I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus': Raghav Chadha rubbishes AAP's allegations
New Delhi (PTI): "I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus," said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday as he rejected allegations levelled against him by the Aam Aadmi Party, calling them "false" and part of a "coordinated campaign".
In a video, Chadha dismissed claims that he did not join opposition walkouts, terming the charge a "blatant lie".
He challenged his detractors to cite even a single instance where he failed to participate and said parliamentary proceedings are recorded through CCTV cameras.
Refuting another allegation that he refused to sign a motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, either formally or informally, to sign it. He added that several other MPs from his party had also not signed the motion.
The MP said his focus in Parliament has been on raising public issues such as GST, income tax, air pollution in Delhi, water concerns in Punjab, public healthcare, education, railway passenger issues, menstrual health, unemployment and inflation.
Chadha said that he goes to Parliament to "create impact not ruckus" as it runs on taxpayers' money and it is his responsibility to highlight their concerns. "Every lie will be exposed," he said.
