Jallikattu win: Now AP pushes for Special Status, but will it benefit?

 

The demand for Special Status for Andhra Pradesh can be traced back to the time when Telangana was formed out of the side of erstwhile Andhra on June 2, 2014. On November 29, 2013 K Chandrasekar Rao, Telanagana’s now CM had set on a fast unto death demanding that the Congress introduce a Telangana Bill in Parliament. Student organisations, employee unions, and various social organisations joined the movement. Telangana was paralysed with shutdowns (Chennai for Jallikattu, save the dramatic fasting).

 

South India, you may have realised by now, has a flair for the dramatic. Now let’s concentrate on the latest political issue bubbling up in Andhra Pradesh. Here’s what the demand is all about:

 

 

If we’d go back to why Telangana was created, one of the strong reasons was that they were worried about Andhra’s taking over all the education and resource allocation. People in Andhra state fared well on social indicators, unlike in Telangana, which had to struggle to keep up pace with the rest of the state.

 

Now Andhra is feeling the pinch because of losing Hyderabad to Telangana as its capital. According to official reports, prior to bifurcation the IT and business hub contributed over ₹34,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh’s total revenues of ₹70,548 crore during 2012-13. Losing the hen that laid the golden eggs has been spelling trouble for Andhra. The financial loss is the matter of contention. The same fear that Telangana had is being reflected in AP, who calls the bifurcation an irrational move.

 

With Special Status this is what Andhra Pradesh will hope to get:

 

 

What those demanding for Special Category Status for AP are not realising is that there is nothing ‘special’ about this. With the current government states are allotted a higher share of 42 per cent of central taxes instead of the previous 32 per cent. So accordingly, the Centre has diluted the benefits that accompanied the SCS status and even slashed the outlay for Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

 

In fact, previous examples of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh,  Himachal Pradesh,  Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand are there to see. These states had been granted this privilege but going by the results, none of them have benefitted greatly from this financial help. These measures are just stepping blocks what actually counts is how the good the state’s financial policy is.

 

The present Modi government has announced some financial aid which has been welcomed by AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. This move by Chandrababu Naidu can be looked up as a rational decision in some contexts. Rushing in for a SCS demand will mean providing the path for other Indian states like Bihar, Odisha and then slowly a whole new case for statehood will gain demand. SCS, could also be seen as an easy way out in meeting the financial deficit of the state (this in no way discounts the trouble the state is facing). However, given such a situation Naidu can show the rest of India, why he is actually hailed as a visionary leader.

 

 

The state of Andhra needs financial support and how it comes in is up to the CM of the state. The citizens should have some trust in Naidu as he has time and again emphasised his plan for AP’s development – Investment. In an interview to The Hindu, the CM had said, “I want to convert our problems into opportunities. We are now looking east because we are an eastern state. Our sea coast is our biggest asset. We have the best seacoast on the eastern side. I plan to use this as an advantage.”

 

In the same interview he highlighted where he was looking for inspiration and investment. Countries like China, Singapore and Japan figure on it and these are some of the most advanced countries in today’s age.  They are all economies that are looking to invest abroad. 

 

Stars turned politicians like Pawan Kalyan have exhorted the public to start their demands based on the Jallikattu agitation, but what they don’t realise is that AP needs reorganisation and unity more than diversification and agitation.

 

 

 

His previous stint as CM made Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh a role model for the successful implementation of Information Technology and e-reforms. Chandrababu Naidu set AP on the path to recovery - roads and other infrastructure were upgraded, education and IT industry in AP grew by leaps and bounds because of his policies. So it is only a matter of time before he is able to do more for the state.