The Congress on Thursday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to granting Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, calling for accountability on long-standing promises. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the Prime Minister, suggesting that the upcoming government would be "Modi 1/3 government," in a video statement shared on X. Ramesh posed four questions to the Prime Minister, two each concerning Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
Referring to a promise made by Modi in Tirupati on April 30, 2014, Ramesh questioned whether the Prime Minister would fulfil his commitment to granting Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh to attract significant investment, a pledge yet to be realised after a decade. Ramesh also criticised the Prime Minister's alleged attempts to privatise the Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant, an initiative opposed by various parties. He called on Modi to halt the privatisation process.
Turning to Bihar, Ramesh inquired whether Modi would honour his 2014 election promise and the decade-old demand of ally and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar by granting Special Category Status to the state. He highlighted the demand for a caste census, citing support from Nitish Kumar and the previous 'mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar. The Congress' questions come amidst the BJP's shortfall of an absolute majority in the recent Lok Sabha polls, potentially relying on its allies to form the government.
With the support of allies like Naidu's TD.