The BJP is going on the offensive in Andhra Pradesh, explaining to the public what the NDA government has done for the State during the past two-and-a-half years and rebutting criticism of the YSR Congress, the Congress, the left parties and Jana Sena, that the BJP has reneged on its promise to grant special category status.

At the first of the meetings held here on Friday, to explain to the public about the special package granted in lieu of the special category status, Union Urban Development Minister and senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress had cheated the public of Andhra Pradesh by making the bifurcation process a mess and doing virtually nothing to compensate the State for its loss.

He said it was because of his efforts in the Rajya Sabha, and those of other BJP leaders, that the special category status was mentioned by the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, but it was not included in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, leading to subsequent problems.

However, though the special category status could not be given, the NDA government had come up with a special package to provide to the State all the benefits in some other form, and opposition parties were misleading the public on the issue.

Venkaiah Naidu claimed that it was the BJP which had cleared all the hurdles for taking up construction of the mega Polavaram project in the West Godavari district, and “it will be a boon to the State and the Centre will bear the entire expenditure incurred on the project, as it is a national project. In fact, the foundation stone for the project was laid in 1982 by the then Congress Chief Minister T Anjaiah, but since then, the Congress could not complete it.”

He said all the promises made to the State will be fulfilled and the BJP and the Telugu Desam Party together would once again place AP in the forefront in the country.

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