more-in Launching a broadside against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday, YSR Congress Party president Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy said Mr. Naidu had never exerted pressure on the Centre for Special Category Status (SCS) during his four-year term. “Why did Mr. Naidu keep quiet during the six months after June 2014 when the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission were in vogue? Mr. Naidu should have demanded SCS much before the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission were accepted by the Centre in February 2015 and now he is citing the 14th Finance Commission recommendations,’’ Mr. Reddy said. Mr. Jagan said the aggressive posturing of Mr. Naidu had no relevance now as the countdown for the elections had begun. “I promise that I will bring back the golden rule of YSR regime in which the poor and marginalised were never forced to go hungry and were never in debt. The YSR Arogyasri scheme ensures free surgeries for all BPL families in any city in India. We will also give special allowances to all these patients after surgery during the recuperation period,’’ he said. Earlier, Mr. Reddy said the four-year old tenure of the TDP government had been marked by farm distress. Farmers were left reeling under unprecedented price crash. The prices of paddy, chilli, cotton and black gram crashed to the lowest heaping misery on the farmer. “But the Chief Minister claims that the agricultural sector is witnessing a double digit growth when the MSPs of commercial crops is very low. How can the Centre handhold the State if the CM talks of 12% growth rate? Even the world’s developed countries never boast of their growth rates,’’ he said. Earlier, Mr. Jagan was accorded a rousing welcome as he arrived at Vedullapalli. Mr. Reddy took part in the party formation day celebrations by unfurling the party flag and later cutting a cake.

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