Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s daughter-in-law N. Brahmani was among the industrialists who attended a meeting of CEOs addressed by Congress President Rahul Gandhi here on Tuesday.
The presence of Brahmani and Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Minister N. Lokesh, T. G. Bharath, son of TDP MP T. G. Venkatesh and some industrialists considered close to the TDP was significant in view of the recent political developments.
Bharath told reporters that Rahul Gandhi promised that if voted to power at the Centre, the Congress would accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh as committed by the Congress-led UPA government in 2014 at the time of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to carve out Telangana.
In March, the TDP pulled of the BJP-led NDA over its refusal to accord the special status. Subsequently, Naidu had shared the dais with Rahul Gandhi during the swearing-in ceremony of H. D. Kumaraswamy as the Karnataka Chief Minister.
Last month, the Congress party also backed the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP against the Narendra Modi government. During the interaction with the industrialists, Rahul Gandhi shared his vision and what he plans to do for industry, especially the small and medium enterprises.
He noted that demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had dealt a blow to the industry. According to Bharath, the Congress President promised to improve the implementation of the GST and address the concerns of the industry.
Rahul Gandhi also promised to bring transparency for greater ease of doing business. Leading Telugu film producer D. Suresh Babu, who was also present, said it was a positive interaction. He said that Rahul Gandhi has a good vision and thoughts.
