MPs from Andhra Pradesh failed to take up State’s issues in Parliament, alleges APCC chief Sharmila

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila has accused the MPs from the State of failing to raise crucial issues, especially the pending bifurcation promises, during the Parliament sessions.

At a press conference in Vijayawada on Saturday, Ms. Sharmila said none of the 25 MPs and 11 members of Rajya Sabha spoke about the rights of the State. She said that 95% of the promises made during the bifurcation in 2014 had not been fulfilled. They included Special Category Status (SCS) for five years, national project status for Polavaram, construction of a new capital in Amaravati, Kadapa steel plant, Dugarajapatnam port, and special financial package for the backward districts. “What has been achieved is less than 5-10%,” she said.

She said the scope of the Polavaram project was drastically reduced from a 45-metre gravity project to a 41-metre lift irrigation system, reducing its cost from ₹55,000 crore to ₹30,436 crore, and excluding the ₹25,000 crore for rehabilitation and resettlement. “When this is being clearly stated in Parliament through a written answer, none of the MPs raised a voice,” she said.

Amaravati, she pointed out, was declared a national project, but the Centre did not provide adequate funds. “Instead, Andhra Pradesh is taking loans of up to ₹91,000 crore to build its own capital, which should have been funded by the Central government,” she said.

Ms. Sharmila said the promises of Kadapa steel plant, supposed to be built by SAIL, was handed over to Jindal, a private company. Dugarajapatnam port was ignored. Backward districts were promised ₹25,000 crore on the lines of the Bundelkhand package, but not a single rupee had been released, she said. “Metro rail for Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam railway zone, Chennai–Visakhapatnam industrial corridor, none of these have been fulfilled,” she said.