Naidu moved a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly seeking a special Parliament session to discuss the issues concerning the state.
TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has decided to launch an agitation to whip up anti-Centre sentiments among the people of Andhra Pradesh. Invoking Telugu pride and fighting for the cause of Andhra are going to be the cornerstone of the agitation that will run up to next year’s elections.
Immediately after the Lok Sabha was adjourned earlier in the day, Naidu in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly moved a resolution seeking a special Parliament session to discuss the issues concerning the state. As only TDP members were present in the House, the Assembly passed the resolution and adjourned indefinitely later.
Stepping up heat on the BJP government at the Centre, Naidu told the Assembly that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not interested in solving the problems of Andhra Pradesh with the aim of hurting his (Naidu’s) prospects in the state. But Naidu also said that his image at the national level was high and he had got a huge response from different parties and the media during his two-day New Delhi trip from Tuesday onwards.
Naidu claimed that he had secured the support of several leaders including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena MPs for his efforts to build momentum against the BJP-led government. “When I went to New Delhi, the leaders of all the major parties were happy to see me back at national level politics and they all pledged to be with me,” Naidu told the Assembly on Friday.
Naidu appeared to be on a mission to defame both the BJP and the Centre and mould public opinion in his favour. The CM told the Assembly that the Prime Minister’s Office had tried to block the telecast of his one-on-one interviews with some national TV news channels two days ago. However, these claims were refuted by the BJP leaders in AP who said that the CM had failed to prove any injustice to the state, adding that his efforts to embarrass the Centre were bound to fail. BJP MP and spokesman G.V.L.
Narasimha Rao and Union minister Prakash Javadekar released a statement detailing the amount of funds given to AP in the last four years.
Naidu had directed his MPs to stage a sit-in in the Rajya Sabha and in the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker after both the Houses were adjourned Friday. The TDP MPs, once they were evicted out of the Parliament premises, were told to continue with their stir somewhere else in the national capital.
Now that the Parliament’s budget session is over, the TDP president wants to use agitations to mobilise the public behind his party. Already there are two major political camps in Andhra on the issue of achieving special category status. One is led by YSR Congress’ Jagan and another one is led by Jana Sena leader and Telugu movie star Pawan Kalyan.
Both of them are able to mobilise many smaller parties and non-political outfits behind them. Naidu, as of now, is alone, but wants to secure the support of government employees and some splinter groups that back the special status demand.
Naidu’s plans to mobilise funds from the public for construction of Amaravati capital city too are a part of his efforts to rally people behind the TDP. “More than the money, we may get through donations or bonds to be finalised soon. The CM intends to appeal to the people across the state to join his efforts to build a world class capital for AP,” said a senior secretary in AP CMO, while talking to The Sunday Guardian.
“My fight is only to secure justice to Andhra which has immensely suffered due to the unscientific division of the state in 2014,” Naidu told a gathering of his supporters after a cycle rally at Ramavarappadu in Vijayawada on Thursday. He called upon the students and youths to support him.
“All those who support me are for the interests of AP and those who want to weaken me are against our interests,” is the refrain of Naidu who has been addressing several groups of people in the last few days. He is keen on making it clear that he was not interested in national politics or becoming the PM after the elections.
He was telling the public that he would not leave AP till it was fully developed.