Manmohan tells Modi he must honour commitments made to Andhra Pradesh

Participating in a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the ‘Non-implementation of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government should honour the commitments made in Parliament on the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Watch the full speech here:

Here is the full text of his speech:

Mr Chairman Sir,

On February 20 2014, when the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2014 was being discussed, I made a solemn commitment on the floor of this august House as Prime Minister of India and I quote “For purposes of central assistance, special category status will be extended to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh”. This had been decided in view of the fact that revenues collected in Hyderabad will accrue entirely to the new state of Telangana. This commitment of special category status to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh had been discussed with Shri Arun Jaitley, then Leader of the Opposition and other senior BJP leaders.

Government, Sir, is a continuing entity. Commitments made on the floor of the House have to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in the nature of an assurance on behalf of the Parliament. I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitment I had made after consultation with his own colleagues.

Thank you