JOIN USNaidu takes on combative posture against Centre
In a muffled threat to BJP over paltry assistance to the state, Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he is prepared for any "sacrifice" to protect the interests of the state.
Naidu was addressing a public meeting at Kakani in Guntur district after laying the foundation stone for JNTU university building complex.
"We will not sit quiet if the injustice continues. I demand that the Prime Minister and the central ministers should, at least now, correct the injustice and fulfill the promises made in the AP Bifurcation Act," he said. Naidu's assertions come in the backdrop of growing friction between BJP and its biggest southern ally TDP over bailing out the state from bifurcation woes.
Naidu made the open threat for the first time after Arun Jaitley presented the 2018-19 budget. "I visited New Delhi 29 times to impress upon the leaders to implement the commitments made during bifurcation of the state. But, no justice has been done to Andhra Pradesh in the budget," he lamented. Urging the people to stay calm, he said a situation like that of Assam and Punjab should not arise in Andhra Pradesh.
Rising resentment
The TDP chief's combative posturing comes amidst growing resentment within the party over the Centre's failure to meet the demands of the state. There is also speculation in political circles that the TDP may opt out of the NDA ahead of the 2019 elections. The TDP, with 15 MPs from AP and one from Telangana, is the biggest ally of the BJP in the South. The party's demand for granting Special Category Status for AP was earlier rejected outright by the Centre.
Special package in lieu of Special Category Status, funds for building the new capital city Amaravati, completion of Polavaram irrigation project and creation of a separate railway zone for Visakhapatnam are some of the key demands of TDP. The ruling party is facing flak from the opposition for failing to extract funds from the Centre despite being a key political ally.