Hyderabad: Union parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the granting of Special Category Status for AP is still very much on cards and that he had never said the proposal was shelved.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle here on Sunday, he said that he was misquoted in a section of the media recently that he had declared the proposal had been shelved. “I have never said the Centre had shelved the proposal or will not grant it in future. It was an assurance given by the UPA Prime Minister on the floor of the Rajya Sabha at the time of passing the AP Bifurcation Act. We also supported it. There is no ambiguity on this,” Mr Venkaiah said.

Regarding the time limit for implementing the proposal for granting Special Category Status to AP, the minister said, “We need to convince all Chief Ministers about the need to convene a meeting of the National Development Council to get it approved. It will take some time. That doesn’t mean we have shelved the proposal.”

“The Centre cannot grant Special Status just like that using its executive powers. We need to convince other states too,” Mr Venkaiah added.