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On the heels of his landslide victory in both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital and brought up, among other things, the key issue of “special category status” for the state.
Reddy, whose electoral victory was largely on the promise of delivering ‘special category status’, urged the Prime Minister to be “magnanimous” with the people of Andhra Pradesh.
His meeting with Modi lasted for nearly an hour.
During the election campaign, Reddy had said he would support the party at the national level which promises to grant ‘special category status’ to Andhra Pradesh. Reddy’s YSR Congress has won 151 of the 175 assembly seats and 22 of 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.
“There is very little we can do in demanding and commanding. But yes, we did meet the Prime Minister and explained to him why special category status is so important for us,” Reddy told reporters after meeting Modi at the latter’s residence in the capital.
The AP Chief Minister designate also said that he would definitely make it a point to remind Modi of this issue whenever he meets the Prime Minister. “I will remind him this was the word given on floor of Parliament”, Reddy said.
Reddy later met BJP President Amit Shah and sought his support on the issue.
“Today, we might not get it (special category status or SCS). We have to be at somebody’s mercy, but I will remind him (Modi) again and again and someday things will change,” he said.
Soon after the meeting with Jagan Reddy, the Prime Minister tweeted: “Had an excellent meeting with Andhra Pradesh’s CM designate @ysjagan. We had a fruitful interaction on several issues pertaining to APs development. Assured him all possible support from the Centre during his term.”
With the NDA getting a landslide victory of 353 seats and BJP itself achieving 303 seats in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, there won’t be any need for the ruling dispensation to look at YSR Congress for support--- a point acknowledged by Reddy.
“They (BJP) don’t need us (to form Government). They are strong,” Reddy said.
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