Still in pact with BJP, but will fight for AP’s rights: TDP

The Telugu Desam Party, which pulled out of the Modi government this week, on Saturday clarified that its alliance with the BJP was still on, though it was ‘severely hurt’ by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s remarks on assistance to Andhra Pradesh.

It also described as “unethical” the demand by the YSR Congress asking the TDP to move a no-confidence motion against the NDA government at the Centre.

State Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told reporters that the TDP had decided to ‘expose’ the Centre on what it had done or not done for the state — as promised in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 — by putting out relevant facts and figures before the people. He spoke with the media after a meeting with Chief Minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, senior minister K Kala Venkata Rao and others. Yanamala said the TDP’s alliance with the BJP was “still on”. “Withdrawing from the central government was the first step... We have to see what the second step will be. Our alliance is on, but we will still fight (for securing the state's rights from the Centre),” he said.

“We are hurt severely by Jaitley’s remarks. Not only us, the entire people of AP are hurt, except (leader of the opposition and YSRC chief) Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and the like,” the minister added. Asked about the YSR Congress' demand that the TDP should either move or support a no-confidence motion against the Modi government, he said moving such a motion against an ally would be “unethical”.

“We are an alliance party, we have some ethical values. Moving or supporting a no-confidence motion will be unethical,” he noted, adding that this was the difference between the TDP and the YSRC. Yanamala and K Kala Venkata Rao lashed out at the YSRC chief, saying he was “only trying to get the criminal cases against him quashed by planning to go under the BJP umbrella”.

The TDP ministers alleged that the YSR Congress had mortgaged the interests of the state. "Their talk about a no-confidence motion is ridiculous,” they said.