Unhappy with budget, Andhra leaders protest in Parliament
HYDERABAD: The “raw deal” meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget 2018-19 has heated up the state’s political atmosphere with ruling alliance partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) indulging in a war of words and the opposition parties calling for a state bandh on February 8.
TDP MPS, with the exception of central ministers P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary, staged a protest in the Parliament house on Monday, on instructions from party president and AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
They demanded that the Centre fulfil the promises made while the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, was being enacted by making adequate allocations for new state capital Amaravati, metro rail projects in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, a new railway zone for Visakhapatnam, and the Polavaram irrigation project.
On Monday evening, TDP MPS met Union home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the issue.
In Andhra however, TDP MLAS and workers launched a tirade against the BJP. In the morning, they tried to storm BJP MLC Somu Veerraju’s house.
The MLC, on Sunday, had accused the TDP of indulging in corruption using Central funds.
To which, TDP leaders said “Leaders like Veerraju have a secret agenda of supporting the YSR Congress party...” Meanwhile, the Opposition partiescalled for a shutdown in the state on February 8.