Venkaiah should quit for SCS, demands VH

Senior Congress leader and former MP V. Hanumantha Rao has demanded the resignation of Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu in favour of Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh, shouldering the responsibility of achieving it.

It was Mr. Venkaiah Naidu who first brought up SCS and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and the then Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley had supported it, Mr. Hanumantha Rao said at a press conference here on Thursday.

Having promised SCS at public meetings in A.P., Narendra Modi went back on it after becoming Prime Minister, Mr. Rao said. Recalling that Mr. Venkaiah Naidu had led the separate Andhra movement in 1971, Mr. Rao said now A.P. was facing problems, and hence he should take the initiative and respond.

Answering a question on the SCS not being incorporated in the Bifurcation Act by the UPA government, he said it was not part of the Bill passed in the Lok Sabha and it was mooted by Mr. Venkaiah Naidu himself. Mr. Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Mr. Jaitley would come around if Mr. Venkaiah Naidu resigned, he said.

The Congress leadership had already extended support to the demand by tabling a no-confidence motion and committed itself to grant SCS if voted back to power, he said in reply to a question on the fast of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for it.

‘Genuine demand’

The Chief Minister’s protest would focus attention of the entire country on it. Since Mr. Modi had won with the support of the TDP, he should keep the promises he made to people, he demanded.

Mr. Modi, who had received rousing receptions abroad in the past, was now facing the heat with protests for SCS and over rape of girls. He said the demand for the railway zone in Visakhapatnam was fully justified. He parried questions on Congress’ alliances in Telangana, saying it was too early.