The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre’s “lackadaisical pace” for the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, but hoped that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi now lacking a majority, a rapid implementation of the legislation can be expected.

Congress general secretary and in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, referred to a media report indicating the Centre’s approval of a major project—an oil refinery and petrochemical hub in Andhra Pradesh—with an investment of over  Rs 60,000 crore.

“An oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh was originally a commitment made by Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Government in the Thirteenth Schedule of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“In fact, the ‘one-third’ Pradhan Mantri’s government was legally obliged to deliver the project within the last ten years, and IOC/HPCL were obliged to examine the feasibility of the project within six months,” he said.

Ramesh lambasted the Modi administration, dubbing it the “one-third Pradhan Mantri’s government,” for initiating the feasibility study only now after a decade of inaction. He linked this sluggish implementation to Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to withdraw from the NDA in 2018.

“This lackadaisical pace of implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was one of the reasons why Chandrababu Naidu garu famously withdrew from the NDA in 2018,” the Congress leader said.

“Perhaps now that the ‘one-third’ Pradhan Mantri has lost his majority and his ego, we can expect rapid implementation of the Act,” Ramesh said.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 240 seats on its own, but falling short of a majority, while the NDA as a whole garnered 293 seats. The Congress won 99 seats, and the INDIA bloc captured 234 seats. Subsequently, two Independent MPs pledged their support to the Congress, raising the INDIA bloc’s total to 236.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, passed by the Indian Parliament bifurcated the state of Andhra Pradesh into two states: Telangana and the residual Andhra Pradesh. The bill was introduced on December 5, 2013, during the first day of the winter session in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The official formation of the two separate states occurred on June 2, 2014, Telangana was established with 10 districts.