Senior Congress leader and outgoing Rajya Sabha member K V P Ramachandra Rao had been a bosom friend of late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, but had been maintaining distance from the latter’s son – YSR Congress party president and present Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Though both the families still enjoy good relationship, there have not been any instances of KVP openly talking to Jagan, let alone moving closely with him or even advising him on various issues, after the latter became the chief minister.
For the first time, on Monday, KVP wrote an open letter to Jagan, advising him to take up with the NDA government on the funds due to the state and appealing him to talk firmly with the Centre on the injustice done to the state due to non-implementation of certain provisions of A P Reorganization Act 2014.
He pointed out that despite the provisions in the Act and specific promises by made by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the state had never received the constitutionally expected support from the Centre.
“In the last six years, the Centre has released only Rs 7,545 crore as a financial assistance under various provisions of the Act, apart from reimbursing an expenditure of Rs 8,615 crore for Polavaram project. Though as part of special package, the Centre was supposed to release 30 per cent additional funds under various centrally sponsored schemes, the Centre has not released it, linking them with repayment of Externally Aided Project (EAP) loans,” he said.
KVP said AP is eligible to get Rs 25,171 crore additional assistance in Centrally Sponsored Schemes alone between 2015-2020 years as per the Special Assistance package announced by Union Government.
“The state government can request the Centre to release these funds. It has got every right to demand and it will help the state overcome financial crisis to some extent,” the MP said.