Asserting that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has taken the Special Category Status (SCS) issue seriously, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said a delegation of the party MPs would impress upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Central government’s duty to discharge its obligations to Andhra Pradesh.
Accordingly, Kakinada MP Thota Narasimham wrote to the Prime Ministers Ófficer-on-Special Duty Sanjay R. Bhavsar, seeking appointment on behalf of the TDP MPs with Mr. Modi at the earliest to apprise him of certain important issues of urgent nature regarding the State.
The MPs will also stage a demonstration in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the Parliament premises to attract national attention. The TDP will take a decision depending on the PM’s response and hoped that he would spend enough time to working out a solution.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Naidu wondered whether it was not the responsibility of the PM and the BJP to do justice to A.P., but did not make any comment that would be construed as his party’s snapping of ties with the national party.
He questioned what better endorsement was needed by the BJP to give SCS to A.P. when most of the parties espoused its cause in Parliament. It was the Congress that walked out amidst the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha after moving a non-official resolution and initiating a short discussion thereof.
Mr. Naidu said: “Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement in the Upper House is unacceptable. If the Central government has financial constraints, it should not have supported bifurcation. It has to hand-hold A.P. right from the day one but the deficit financing did not happen from the first year itself.”
The Chief Minister further said there was no point in sending an all-party delegation to Mr. Modi. It was because A.P. already got support in Parliament from all parties, including those not having a presence in the State.
“The Central government has not given anything extra to A.P. Over and above the revenue deficit that crippled the State, we have restrictions imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act on making borrowings from outside. In this scenario, in which direction should A.P look for succour?” he questioned.
Appeal to Opposition
Mr. Naidu appealed to the Opposition parties not to disturb public life in the name of bandh and suggested to them let their protests known in a productive way like the Japanese did, by sporting black badges and working overtime.
