Shah insulted people of AP: Naidu
Telugu Atmagouravam to the forefront again; CM says BJP has done injustice to AP
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday hit out at BJP national president Amit Shah for blaming the Telugu Desam for leaving the NDA.
Responding to the ninepage letter written by Mr Shah, Mr Naidu said in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly that the letter lacks dignity and is in bad taste. He said that Mr Shah had twisted facts on many issues and presented all lies in the letter.
In his first attack on Mr Naidu for his decision to break ties with his party, Mr Shah said the Chief Minister’s move was guided by political consideration and not development concerns, and dubbed his criticism of the Centre as “untrue and baseless”.
Mr Naidu found fault with Mr Shah’s response that the TD walked out of the NDA in a whiff and unilaterally saying the decision was solely for state’s interests and not guided by any “political considerations”.
“As we didn’t have any other choice, as a last resort, as a mark of protest we walked out of the NDA. We wrote to various Union ministries several times, seeking funds, and I personally visited Delhi 29 times but there was no response. We waited patiently for four years for justice to the state. We remained a loyal friend (of the NDA) but snapped ties only when it did not honour any of the promises,” Mr Naidu said.
“What Shah wrote is a pack of lies and halftruths. It is not only insulting but also provoking the people of AP. It lacked dignity,” he said. He also said that the BJP was also part of the past sin of bifurcating the state irrationally along with the Congress. He said that in fact, the BJP had done more injustice to Andhra Pradesh than the Congress.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday hit out at BJP national president Amit Shah for blaming the Telugu Desam for leaving the NDA.
He warned that the BJP will also face the same fate as that of the Congress which was routed in the state. Mr Naidu said that the details given by Mr Shah on revenue deficit was all wrong.
The Chief Minister said that he was not demanding to do any undue favour to the state but only asking for the implementation of promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act and also assurances given by Prime Minister on the floor of the House in the Rajya Sabha like the Special Category Status. He said that the state Assembly unanimously demands industrial incentives on the lines of those given to north-eastern states, Central funding under 90:10 ratio and funding of externally aided projects.
Mr Naidu further said that the state government had already submitted utilisation certificates to the funds given to both Vijayawada and Guntur municipalities and some of them will be forwarded to the Centre soon.
He said that utilisation certificates for `957 crore of the total `1,050 crore funds received for the development of the seven backward districts were already sent to the Centre.
“Is this the language used and the way a national party president writes to a CM and the president of another political party?” Mr Naidu questioned.
Responding to the criticism that the state government was not using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photos on Central government schemes implemented in the state, Mr Naidu questioned whether Mr Modi had used Dr Manmohan Singh’s photos when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister. “They have the guts to say this. Can they show any pictures?” he asked.