CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy seeks PM Modi's support
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New Delhi: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday sought Centre's intervention to bail the State out of the financial crisis. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the dire financial straits the State is facing due to various reasons.
Later, speaking to the media, Jagan Mohan Reddy said that AP was facing a debt of Rs 2.58 lakh crore of which Rs 97,000 crore was passed on to it at the time of bifurcation. Later on the debt mounted to more than Rs 2.5 crore and the debt repayment burden itself was to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore per annum with interest.
He said he urged the Prime Minister to extend his cooperation in tiding over the crisis. AP needed the Special Category Status promised to it during the process of the bifurcation and the Centre should accord the status to it without further delay.
"It is unfortunate that the ruling BJP had a full majority of its own and hence is not dependent on any of the parties. I prayed to God to confine the BJP to around 250 seats. It was not to be and hence, I am not in a position to demand anything. I could only seek and urge them to help my state out," he said.
There was no need for the BJP to seek his party to join the NDA as the BJP had a full majority, he said. AP was only seeking its due in seeking full reimbursement of the Polavaram project cost, including relief and rehabilitation. He promised the people that the 'Navaratnas' and other welfare measures announced by him would continue to be in place despite the financial constraints. "That is why I am seeking the Centre's help," he said.
"AP will be the beacon light of revolutionary governance. We will put in place systems to weed out corruption stringently and an exemplary governance would be delivered," he said.
He said Amaravati could at best be a symbol of scam as the previous TDP government exploited the land to the hilt to benefit people closer to the powers that be.
The insider trading was not meant to benefit commoners in any way and it was his duty as the Chief Minister to bring the culprits to the book "though I don't brook any personal animosity towards either Chandrababu Naidu or his cohorts," he said.