AP is not at mercy of any alliance

Amaravati: Against the backdrop of strained ties between BJP and TDP over “insufficient” budgetary allocations for Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said the State didn’t need anybody’s “benevolence”.

“Provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and the promises made by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Rajya Sabha have not been implemented. Our MPs have been fighting for justice to the State. We need nobody’s benevolence. Our efficiency and hard work will be our saviours,” Naidu said in remarks apparently aimed at the Narendra Modi government.

TDP is one of the constituents of the BJP-led NDA. Addressing public representatives and bureaucrats via teleconference here, the Chief Minister asked everyone to strive for the State’s progress and meet the desired targets.

For more than 15 days since the presentation of the Union Budget 2018-19, Naidu did not speak anything in public against the Centre though TDP MPs carried out an agitation in Parliament, protesting the “raw deal” meted out to the southern State. “The people’s representatives’ fight and the officials’ efforts are to protect the interests of the State. We have to work more efficiently during a crisis. Our hard work will pay,” he said.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party sources said the Chief Minister, who also heads TDP, was planning to convene an all-party meeting soon to discuss ways to build pressure on the Centre to secure the State’s “rightful” due. A decision on the date of the meeting and the parties to be invited could be decided at TDP’s coordination committee meeting here on Tuesday, they said.

The proposed meeting assumes significance as it is the first one the Chandrababu Naidu government will be holding on any issue since the State’s bifurcation in 2014.

Following protests by Andhra Pradesh MPs in Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said a formula will soon be worked out to release funds under a special package to Andhra Pradesh.

The MPs belonging to TDP, YSR Congress and Congress protested “non-implementation” of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, and demanded a financial package for the State.