Central aid: Chandrababu demands ‘justice’ for AP

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, February 17

In a veiled threat to his ally BJP over the alleged “injustice” to Andhra Pradesh in the allocation of Central funds, the Telugu Desam Party supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said he was prepared for any “sacrifice” to protect the interests of the state.

“We will not sit quiet if the injustice continues. I demand that the Prime Minister and the Central ministers should, at least now, correct the injustice and fulfill the promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act,” he said.

Naidu was addressing a public meeting at Kakani in Guntur district after laying the foundation stone for a university building complex. His assertion comes in the backdrop of growing friction between the BJP and its biggest southern ally over the Centre’s failure to “handhold” Andhra Pradesh grappling with post-bifurcation blues.

Special package in lieu of Special Category Status, funds for building the new capital “Amaravati”, completion of Polavaram irrigation project and creation of a separate railway zone for Visakhapatnam were some of the key demands of the TDP. The ruling party is facing flak from the Opposition for failing to extract funds from the Centre despite being a key NDA ally.

“I visited Delhi 29 times and met everyone seeking justice. But, injustice is still continuing. The Union Budget has failed to make proper allocations to us. Even in the previous budget, they did injustice to Andhra Pradesh,” Naidu recalled.