Naidu knocks on Prez door seeking spl status for AP

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday rang the doorbells of Rashtrapati Bhavan seeking justice for the state by way of special status.

Leading a delegation of TDP lawmakers, he marched from Andhra Bhavan in the national capital to Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, which included 18 demands.

"The central government has ignored promises made under Andhra Pradesh bifurcation Act. Modi government is whiling away time without releasing grants to the state. Development of Hyderabad has been a struggle of 60 years and today it stands as a world class city. On seeing the injustice done to Andhra Pradesh, many people went into depression; recently a physically challenged man Arjun Rao committed suicide," Naidu told reporters after submitting the memorandum.

His meeting with the President came a day after Naidu sat on a day-long fast in the national capital where Opposition leaders expressed their solidarity.

Unscientific division

The memorandum stated that the "unscientific division" of Andhra Pradesh had "not only caused severe hardships" to the people of the state but also "inflicted serious blow to fiscal and economic strength" besides "affecting development opportunities".

"The implementation of assurances made under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 as well as by the Prime Minister on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, is at snail’s pace," the memorandum said.

"..Even after four-and-a-half-years, not even one assurance given to the five crore people of Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation of the state" has been fulfilled, it added.