The BJP-led NDA Government had already taken a decision to sanction a new railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, party leaders said here on Wednesday.
BJP Floor leader in the Assembly P. Vishnu Kumar Raju and MLC P.V.N. Madhav told reporters during their visit to Gambheeram that the Centre had already taken a favourable decision and a formal announcement would be made “very soon.”
Accusing the TDP and other parties of politicising the issue, they said there was no need for them to organise candlelight rallies and protest programmes.
“We are committed to carving out a new zone as per the promise made during the elections, and the formal sanction is taking time due to adherence to certain procedures,” they said.
The BJP leaders said they would go on a thanksgiving trip to New Delhi on July 30 and 31 to convey their gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, during his speech in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, made a categorical declaration that a new zone would be created with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, they recalled.
The zone remained a contentious issue with the Railway Board earlier declaring that it was not technically viable. There were also reports that due to opposition by certain BJP leaders from Odisha, the Centre wanted to ignore the long-awaited demand of Andhra Pradesh.
The headquarters of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) is located in Bhubaneswar. The Waltair division, one of the largest revenue-earners for the Railways, is at present part of the ECoR.
Senior railway officials later stated that sanctioning a new zone would be a political decision.