Special session of Parliament: NDA partners in Andhra Pradesh hold key meet

Amaravati, April 15 (IANS) Ahead of the three-day special session of Parliament, beginning on Thursday, leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Andhra Pradesh met on Wednesday.

Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan, state BJP president PVN Madhav, and state TDP president Palla Srinivasa Rao attended the meeting held on Wednesday evening at the Chief Minister’s official residence.

The NDA partners discussed the strategy to be adopted by them in both the Houses of Parliament to support the Constitutional amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Act, 2023).

Chandrababu Naidu has already written a letter to heads of political parties in the state and Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members from the state seeking their support for the amendment bill.

He requested them to extend their support to the amendment bill, which aims to implement 33 per cent reservations for women in legislative assemblies starting from the 2029 elections.

The national president of the TDP appealed to them to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to provide one-third reservations for women in Parliament and assemblies.

Chandrababu Naidu stated that the introduction of the Women's Reservation Amendment Bill in Parliament on April 16 will be a historic milestone in Indian democracy.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Sharmila Reddy has written a strongly worded open letter to Chandrababu Naidu, warning that the proposed delimitation exercise poses a serious threat to the political and financial future of the state.

In her letter, Y S Sharmila Reddy cautioned that a population-based delimitation would significantly reduce the state’s relative representation in Parliament, thereby weakening its bargaining power at the Centre. She highlighted that such a shift could result in Andhra Pradesh losing thousands of crores in central allocations over time, directly impacting critical projects such as Amaravati capital development, the Polavaram project, and key industrial corridors.

Describing the move as a “structural injustice,” she argued that states like Andhra Pradesh, which have shown responsible governance and population control, are being unfairly penalised. She stressed that reduced parliamentary strength would translate into diminished influence over national policy decisions, funding priorities, and project clearances.

Sharmila Reddy urged the Chief Minister to take immediate and decisive action, including publicly opposing the delimitation proposal, rallying all Members of Parliament from the state to vote against the Delimitation Bill, and convening an urgent one-day session of the State Assembly to pass a resolution rejecting the move.

Calling it a “defining moment” for Andhra Pradesh, she emphasised that the issue transcends party lines and demands a united stand to protect the state’s interests.

Issuing a stern warning, the APCC president stated that if the state government fails to act, the Congress party will launch statewide protests and mass agitation against what she termed as a grave injustice to the people of Andhra Pradesh.

--IANS

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