Never accepted package: Naidu
NAIDU said it was the Centre and not him who had taken a U-turn on special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
A day after the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu travelled to the capital on Saturday to say that he had never accepted the special package offered by the Centre in place of the special category status.
He said he had not agreed to the externally aided projects (EAP) contained in the special package. The Centre had stated that it would set up special purpose vehicles (SPV) for the purpose but he did not accept since it would burden the state financially, Mr Naidu said.
Mr Naidu said he not taken a U-turn on special category status, and it was the BJP government at the Centre that had done so and termed Mr Modi’s reply to the no-trust move as “irresponsible”.
A day after the no-trust vote in the Lok Sabha, AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu travelled to the capital on Saturday to say that he had never accepted the special package offered by the Centre in place of the special category status.
He said he had gone to Delhi to explain to the nation why the party had moved the no-confidence motion and what they are expecting from the Centre. Mr Naidu had previously stated that he would go to Delhi to explain the BJP “betrayal”. He flew back to the city after briefing the media.
He said that the TD was demanding the fulfilment of promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2014 elections at Tirupati.
The AP Chief Minister recalled that Mr Modi had asked the AP government to build a capital better than Delhi. Mr Modi at that time had said that the UPA government had killed the mother to save the child. “Now we are demanding that the BJP-led government to save the mother (AP), Mr Naidu said.
He asked why the Centre was hesitating to accord special category status to AP on the pretext that the 14th Finance Commission was objecting to it, while extending the facility for 11 states. The Centre should honour the sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Referring to no-confidence motion, Mr Naidu said the BJP majority in the House was clear, but the TD had gone ahead with the move to secure implementation of bifurcation assurances.
He said the Centre had been humiliating people of AP by denying release of funds for various projects.
He said that the Centre should release funds for Polavaram project and financial assistance to backward regions on par with the Bundelkhand package. Mr Naidu said that the Centre had released only `1,500 crore for Amaravati and `650 crore for central university, though the state government has allotted lands worth `1,600 crore.