The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu called for an urgent meeting with his party members. He plans to discuss the future of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with the BJP party. The meeting comes a day after Mr. Naidu pulled two of his ministers working at the Union Cabinet.
CM Naidu asked his TDP members in the Cabinet to quit after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley denied AP a Special Category Status. After the TDP members handed their resignation to PM Narendra Modi, he called AP CM Naidu. PM Modi asked Mr. Naidu if this issue could be solved and if they could sit down and talk.
PM Modi indirectly asked CM Naidu if he would reconsider his members’ resignation. But Mr. Naidu held his ground and said no matter what happens from now his members will quit.
According to the political parties in AP the bifurcation caused a huge revenue deficit in the State of Andhra Pradesh. In 2016, the Center announced a “special package” for Andhra but the TDP claim no funds were received. CM Naidu said he agreed to the special package because the Center stated Special Category State would not be provided.
While the TDP denies receiving any funds, the Finance Minister states Rs. 12,500 crores were given to the package. The Finance Minister further stated the money was not used to do any tangible work like constructing the new capital. The Government is now skeptical to give into TDP’s demands to avoid other states demanding the same.
