TDP chief and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu being the crucial supporter to Narendra Modi’s government at the Center, after the TDP emerged as the second largest party in NDA, has been facing questions on whether he will insist resolution to long pending issues for the development of the state.
Though he has been stating that he returned to NDA as the liberal assistance from the Center is essential to bring back the state into development path, which was destroyed by five-year YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s anarchetic regime.
Chandrababu’s oath-taking ceremony witnessed an adorable moment when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a tight hug to Naidu, congratulating him for his fourth stint as Andhra CM. The duo displayed their bonhomie on the stage as their supporters cheered the moment shared by the two political stalwarts.
However, till now neither Modi or the BJP has made any specific commitments towards Andhra Pradesh. Even Naidu also didn’t put forward any particular demands before the Center. It may be recalled that in 2018 Naidu walked out from the NDA protesting against failure of implementing commitments made by Mod’s government for the state.
Incidentally, all those issues continue to be relevant even today. In this regard, Congress is attempting to corner Chandrababu on those issues and demanding PM Modi to give clarity on those issues.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared on X his speech in the Rajya Sabha from seven years ago about the Modi government’s “failure” to deliver on the promise of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014.
“I made this speech in the Rajya Sabha seven years ago, about the Modi Government’s failure to deliver on the promise of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014. Unfortunately, it still holds true today,” he said. Unless (Chandrababu) Naidu garu takes this issue up aggressively, there is little hope that the’one-third’ Pradhan Mantri will act, he added.
He said there are five broad issues that the PM should give clarity on. “Will the prime minister deliver the special category status for Andhra Pradesh as he promised in the holy city of Tirupati in March 2014, he asked.
“Will he release the pending funds for the Polavaram Multipurpose Irrigation Project? Will he halt the privatization of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant that his Government has pioneered?” Ramesh said. Ramesh asked if the PM would operationalise the new South Coast Railway zone, which is supposed to be headquartered in Andhra Pradesh.
“Will he finally sanction the various commitments made in the AP Reorganisation Act – including the Kadapa Steel Plant, Dugarajapatnam Port, the Kakinada Petro complex, and an Agricultural University for the state – that he has dragged his feet on for ten years?” he asked.
