The new government in Andhra Pradesh should come out with a clear stand on each of the assurances given to the State in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, CPI State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy has said.
Addressing a media conference at the party office here on Friday, Mr. Murthy said that the NDA government at the Centre needs the support of the TDP, and this was a golden opportunity and responsibility of the State government to demand its due.
The CPI leader said that the neglect of capital by the previous government has caused confusion among the people and loss to the State. Cautioning against concentration of development at one place, Mr. Murthy said that Amaravati could be developed to the extent needed while giving equal importance to other regions of the State.
Polavaram project
Attributing the uncertainty and undue delay in completion of the Polavaram project to the indifference of the Union government, the CPI leader said the indifference and lack of understanding of the issue by the YSRCP government had compounded the issue. Completion of the project should also include getting the special package to the displaced families. He said that it was the responsibility of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to prevail upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to honour the Centre’s commitment in this regard.
South Coast Railway Zone
Referring to the undue delay in the commencement of work on construction of the South Coast Railway (S Co R) zonal headquarters in Visakhapatnam, he said that the State government should exert pressure on the Centre. He alleged that the Centre was issuing misleading statements on its decision to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP). He also took exception to the statements of Union Minister of Mining Kishan Reddy ruling out the immediate possibility of its privatisation as there were no takers to buy the plant. His words meant that if buyers came forward, VSP sale was imminent. The CPI leader alleged that the sale of assets of the VSP was a part of privatisation of the plant.
Calling upon the State government to be wary of the Centre’s tactics, Mr. Murthy said that the BJP-led NDA government has come out with a fresh proposal for sale of VSP assets worth ₹500 crore. He demanded allocation of captive mines to VSP.
CPI district secretary M. Pydiraju, executive council members J.S.J. Atchyuta Rao, Kasireddy Satyanarayana, SK Rahaman, P. Chandrasekhar and CN Kshetrapal were present.
CPI State plenary
The State-level plenary of CPI will be held in the city on July 1, 2 and 3. CPI national secretary K. Narayana would attend, Mr. Satyanarayana Murthy said.
