We gave Hyd - K’taka special status: Cong

NT Correspondent

Yadgir: Congress’ ‘Praja Dhwani Yatra’ made its way into Yadgir on Saturday as the party sought to emphasize its role in giving special status to the Hyderabad-Karnataka, which an erstwhile BJP-ruled Centre had been reluctant to do. Under United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the grand old party had amended the constitution with article 371 J, giving special status to the Hyderabad-Karnataka.

Article 371J refers to the constitutional amendment that empowered the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which includes Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari.The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Union government, which had ruled from 1999 to 2004, had refused to implement article 371 J. The then Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani had also not seen the move favourably.

The current All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge had been instrumental in lobbying for the amendment and getting it implemented. Kharge is himself from the region. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar fell back on this familiar narrative, claiming the BJP didn’t care about the historically backward region.

“When we had submitted a request to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government government, requesting a constitutional amendment under article 371 J and that the region be given special status, the Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani had written back that it was not possible to do so,” he said.

“However, Mallikarjun Kharge carried on the struggle and had article 371 J implemented under Manmohan Singh and even created a consensus among Opposition leaders, all of this to accommodate the people of the region. Has the BJP ever implemented a similar programme?” Shivakumar asked.