”TDP pulls out of NDA govt, BJP ministers to quit Andhra cabinet
NEW DELHI : Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nora Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Thursday quit the Modi government, with its ministers P Ashok Gajapathi Raju (Civil Aviation) and Y S Chowdary (Science and Technology) submitting their resignations.
The two ministers drove to Narendra Modi’s residence and handed over their resignations in accordance with the party’s decision to resign over the TDP’s charge that the Centre was not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh.
“We will continue to be a part of the NDA but not take up any ministerial positions. I don’t think it’s fair on our part to expect PM to deal with these issues. It’s for the concerned ministries to take up, already a considerable amount of time has lapsedsaid ” Y S Choudhary .
The TDP is second-largest party after the BJPin the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In the Lok Sabha, the TDP has 16 members and in the Rajya Sabha six. It is the first pre-poll partner of the BJP to pull out of the Modi government after being part of it for nearly four years.TDP was an ally of the BJP during the NDA-I years from 1998 to 2004, and then again from 2014 onwards.
After Chandrababu Naidu had asked TDP ministers to resign from the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, two BJP ministers in the state Cabinet — State Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas and State Endowment Minister Pydikondala Manikyala Rao — also submitted their resignations.
“This is the first step. We will go ahead with other actions later,” Naidu said. “You are holding the hand of the North Eastern states but not Andhra Pradesh’s. You are giving industrial incentives to them, not to Andhra Pradesh. Why this discrimination ?.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday promised that funding equivalent to special-category status would be provided to Andhra Pradesh. He said granting the status to any state except for Northeast and three hilly provinces would not be constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission.
The decision came after the Prime Minister spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Earlier, Mr. Chowdary said he and Mr. Raju were stepping down as ministers due to “unavoidable circumstances” but the party would continue to be part of the NDA.
Likening the decision to an ”unfortunate divorce”, Mr. Chowdary said he and Mr. Raju would continue to work as parliamentarians for Andhra Pradesh. The development comes after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday night announced its decision to pull out of the NDA government in protest against refusal of the Centre to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh, saying the Centre has done injustice to the state.
The BJP has also rejected Naidu’s charge that the Modi government neglected the state, saying the Centre not only fulfilled all its obligations but also had gone out of its way to help the state. BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the PM Modi dispensation worked to ensure that Andhra Pradesh got full resources in infrastructure and industrial sector after the bifurcation of the state.
(With Agency Inputs ).
Likening the decision to an ”unfortunate divorce”, Mr. Chowdary said he and Mr. Raju would continue to work as parliamentarians for Andhra Pradesh. The development comes after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday night announced its decision to pull out of the NDA government in protest against refusal of the Centre to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh, saying the Centre has done injustice to the state.
The BJP has also rejected Naidu’s charge that the Modi government neglected the state, saying the Centre not only fulfilled all its obligations but also had gone out of its way to help the state. BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the PM Modi dispensation worked to ensure that Andhra Pradesh got full resources in infrastructure and industrial sector after the bifurcation of the state.
(With Agency Inputs ).
