Hyderabad: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday that the Centre was committed to implementing the promises it made to AP at the time of bifurcation, including providing funds in the ongoing financial year. This assurance came after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met him in Delhi after the Niti Aayog meeting convened by the Prime Minister.
“There is no going back on our promises made to AP, they will be implemented in toto in due course of time,” Mr Jaitley told newsmen.
Mr Jaitley said the package announced last week was only “the beginning” and added that the Centre would fulfill all the promises made by the then Pm Manmohan Singh at the time of approval of the bifurcation Act in the Rajya Sabha.
“It is our endeavour to see all committments are honoured,” Mr Jaitley said. Mr Naidu, when he spoke to the media, clearly did not want to blame the NDA government for the delay in implementing the promises or releasing funds to AP.
When mediapersons repeatedly asked him whether he held the NDA government responsible, Mr Naidu said, “I will blame only the Congress as they cheated the people of AP for their political gains.” “One cannot compare AP with other states, as we have lost more on account of bifurcation, I also told the Centre that unless they come forward with major sops to AP it is not possible to build a vibrant state,” he said. Mr Naidu asked the Centre to come out with measures to establish more industries in the state.
