Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh: Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took pot-shots at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. He said that the Congress party was committed to granting the promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh if elected to power in the coming elections in 2019.

He said that the state government required special support from the Union government.

“The nation and the prime minister owe something to the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Centre owes the special category status (SCS) to AP.

“It was promised (by the then prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2014) but was not delivered (by current Prime Minister Narendra Modi)…,” Mr. Gandhi said in reply to a question during an interaction with college students at the Byreddy Convention Centre here in the afternoon.

According to the Congress Chief, the weaker districts in the southern state too required special support from the Centre and the Congress party frankly and clearly conveyed that the whole development in the state should be carried out in a uniform way. He further added that his party was committed to doing that.

The Congress Chief was on his second visit to the state of Andhra Pradesh after it was bifurcated in the year 2014. During his address, he responded over a wide range of issues like GST, the fuel price hike, the crisis in the agriculture sector, corruption, unemployment, banking, women’s safety, and other such issues.

He made it a promise that if voted to power in the year 2019, the party would change the structure of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and bring down the prices of petrol and diesel.

“This is not a real GST as there are five different levels. We will change the Gabbar Singh Tax, make it one tax, a true GST…,” Mr. Gandhi said.

When queried over the issue of women’s safety, he urged the country’s women to take part in nation’s politics actively.

“We need more and more women in the political parties to change the nature of politics so that women can walk comfortably in the streets. Right now, there is not enough place for women in the government and in politics,” Mr. Gandhi said.

While referring to the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill, he made it clear that the party would support it “wholeheartedly”.

“I told the prime minister that the Congress is ready to support the Women’s Reservation Bill wholeheartedly, but he has not responded,” Mr. Gandhi said.

According to him, the first challenge was to get jobs for all the unemployed youngsters.

“The entire banking system of the country has been captured by 10-15 big business people. We should make banking and money available to the young entrepreneurs, not 10 or 15 big business people,” Mr. Gandhi said.

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