Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday night left for New Delhi on a two-day tour amid the continuing standoff in Parliament over the no-confidence motion moved by his party and the Central government’s refusal to do a rethink on the demand for the Special Category Status (SCS).
He is going to meet the floor leaders of various parties in Parliament on Tuesday and explain the injustice meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the implementation of the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014 (APRA) and in fulfilling the assurances given in the Rajya Sabha (RS) at the time of bifurcation.
He will distribute copies of a detailed note on the issues related to the APRA to the leaders of like-minded parties to highlight the plight of the State.
It is Mr. Naidu’s maiden visit to the national capital after the TDP severed its ties with the BJP by first making its two Ministers quit the Union Cabinet and then coming out of the BJP-led NDA.
Teleconference
In a teleconference with the TDP MPs, the CM insisted that his Delhi visit was intended to mount pressure on the Central government to resolve the bifurcation issues and not to further his political interests. He described the talk of resignation by the YSRCP MPs as a drama. Mr. Naidu regretted that the Congress had divided the State arbitrarily and the BJP gave a shock by blatantly violating the APRA.
It was this injustice that the elected representatives of the TDP should fight, he exhorted. The Centre must honour its commitments related to 19 items in the APRA and six assurances given in the RS, he told party leaders and sought to know how the Centre could escape from its responsibility to deliver what had been promised in Parliament. The TDP MPs could so far muster the support of 11 parties and even the MPs of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had agreed not to obstruct the TD Parliamentary Party’s agenda. Briefing media persons on the Telugu Desam Legislature Party meeting, State party president and Energy Minister K. Kala Venkata Rao said Mr. Naidu would explore the ways to achieve the Special Category Status. Information and Public Relations Minister Kalava Srinivasulu said the CM would meet the floor leaders of all parties in Parliament.
