Dashing the hopes of the people of Andhra Pradesh for a special category status, the State, nothing less than henchman Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Satyanarayana Chowdary alias Sujana Chowdary said that the issue of special status is irrelevant now.

Giving a twist to the row, Chowdary said that even if the center did not grant special status to AP, which would give all the tax benefits to the state. "I am confident that the Centre would give all concessions to AP as promised during the passage of the AP-2014 Reorganization Bill," he said in an interaction with mediapersons here on Saturday. The Union Minister exuded confidence that the Centre provide clarity on the issue of granting special status of AP within fifteen days.

The last statement Sujana Chowdary reinforces the suspicion that the state government is losing hope in the possibility of the Centre for granting special to the AP status as promised in Parliament during the passage of the AP Reorganization Bill -2014. Although the main leaders in the TDP are again and again openly stating that Centre would fulfill his promise of a special status, several of them, however, skeptical sound in private conversations.

A senior minister revealed that instead of granting special status category to AP, the government is considering the option of giving incentives and other benefits. "The Centre is developing an alternative package for AP. Includes tax incentives to help the state to attract investment," he said.