Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Chief Minister conveyed his birthday wishes to Mr. Shah, who turned 55 on 22 October. Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy, Lok Sabha leader MP Mithun Reddy, MPs Balasouri, Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, Raghuramakrishnam Raju, and Margani Bharat accompanied YS Jagan for the meeting.

The discussions lasted for about 40 minutes and saw the AP CM raise the demand for Special Status Category and seek financial assistance from the Centre. The Chief Minister discussed the financial challenges being faced by Andhra Pradesh and asked the release of funds for backward districts in the State. Mr. Reddy reportedly appealed to the Union Home Minister to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh, in order to help the State withstand stiff competition from the nearby Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru among others.

The other issues that were mentioned during the meeting between YS Jagan and Amit Shah included the Polavaram Irrigation Project’s reverse tendering estimates, PPA projects, construction of a steel plant in Kadapa, a seaport at Ramayapatnam in Prakasam district, Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor, Petro Chemical Complex in Kakinada and resolution of other pending bifurcation issues between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Additionally, the AP CM mentioned that he would keep the Centre posted about the fund utilisation by sending the relevant reports from time to time.