The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is determined to get its due from its partner BJP. The party has lost faith in the assurances given by the BJP, going by the way a series of promises were made by the Centre but were not kept.
“The TDP has decided not to allow the forthcoming Parliament session to function until the State gets its due,” said Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas.
In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu , Mr. Srinivas said, “We will intensify the protest in the Parliament and will stall the proceedings until all the 19 assurances listed in the A.P. Reorganisation Act-2014 are fulfilled. There are rumours about new promises, but we are not in a position to believe in any assurances proposed by the BJP as numerous such promises made in the last three and a half years were not honoured.”
The party has given a deadline to the BJP till March 5, on which date the next session of the Parliament is scheduled to begin. Till then, the party MPs will be in regular touch with the TDP leadership and explore all options to get the assurances fulfilled, according to Mr. Srinivas.
A.P. issues in focus
Meanwhile, the TDP has been successful in attracting the attention of the other political parties, intelligentsia and media on the way bifurcated A.P. was treated by the alliance partner. The other alliance partners were watching the developments and support for A.P. was growing from them, said the MP.
“There has been a serious discussion among political circles across the country on the kind of ‘Alliance Dharma’ the BJP is following as far as A.P. is concerned. Day by day, we could see growing support from parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the TRS,” said Mr. Srinivas.
Deficit concerns
The TDP is chiefly irked by the way the Centre has changed the estimates related to revenue deficit, which was initially pegged at ₹16,000 crore. “Later, it was reduced to ₹7,500 crore, of which ₹3,900 crore was given. Now, the Centre says the outstanding is just ₹130 crore, which is illogical and frustrating. On top of it, they’ve gone back on railway zone,” the MP said.
The TDP is now keen on achieving all the 19 items listed in the Act that includes the Polavaram project, steel factory in Kadapa, railway zone, special assistance to Amaravati, bridging resource gap and Dugarajapatnam port.
