Hours after Jaitley snub, TDP pulls out of Cabinet
■ 2 ministers to resign, party will remain in NDA for now
Amaravati, March 7: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu announced late on Wednesday that his party, the Telugu Desam Party, would pull out of the government at the Centre, a few hours after finance minister Arun Jaitley ruled out granting special category status to the state.
Speaking at a press conference, the CM said that two Union ministers from TDP, Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and minister of state for science and technology Y. S. Chowdary, will resign on Thursday from the Cabinet. But the TDP, he said, would remain in alliance with the BJP, for now. The decision comes amid growing strain in ties between his TDP and the BJP over alleged neglect of the state in the Union Budget.
Addressing reporters at an emergency meeting, Mr Naidu said, “The Centre has been taking one sided decisions and our patience has run out now. What is the purpose of putting our members in the Central Cabinet? As that purpose has failed, we’re calling back our leaders.” “This is the first step. We will go ahead with other actions later,” he added. The TDP chief said he had tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “courtesy” to inform him about the decision to quit, but he did not come on line.
The TDP has 16 members in the Lok Sabha and six in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP and the NDA have a comfortable majority, and the threat of TDP pulling out of the coalition would pose no crisis for the government. The TDP’s move to act on its grievance came hours after Mr Jaitley, while talking to the media, justified the denial of special status to Andhra stating that the Centre is already giving the financial benefits equivalent to the SCS through the special package. “Sentiments do not decide the quantum of funds. It is the constitutional award of the Finance Commission
The Centre has been taking one sided decisions and our patience has run out now... we’re calling back our leaders
— C. Naidu,
Andhra Pradesh CM
which decides the quantum of funds which a state gets,” said Mr Jaitley said at a press conference.
He ruled out any further tax incentives to the state than those already announced, saying then the states earning far less than Andhra will too start demanding it. “Arun Jaitley’s statement was the last straw. They are apparently predetermined. They don’t appear to help the state,” Mr Naidu said.
The TDP chief said that it is wrong to compare Andhra to other states that are backward. “We are asking for special status because it was promised to us during bifurcation,” he said.
TDP has been agitating both inside and outside Parliament since the Union Budget was announced on February 1, claiming that none of the state’s demands were met.
Things came to a head on Wednesday after Mr Jaitley, speaking at a press conference, shifted the blame on the Andhra Pradesh government and TDP. He said that the Centre was “committed” to giving financial assistance to Andhra government, but said they had been modifying their demands.