Hyderabad: Without referring to the promise of according Special Category Status to AP, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday assured the state of pumping more funds for the construction of Amaravati capital city and the Polavaram multipurpose project.
“We will do the maximum for the residuary state. We will not stop even a single paisa that the state is entitled to receive,” Mr Jaitley told Lok Sabha during a reply to the debate on Finance Bill in the presence of the Prime Minister.
Telugu Desam members, who were present in the house, neither raised their voice demanding special status nor protest.
Read: Andhra Pradesh Cabinet to write to PM on special status
TD Parliamentary Party sources said that the party’s MPs were specifically told by the their bosses that they should not create any scenes by disturbing Mr Jaitley’s speech.
A TD MP, on condition of anonymity, said that even on Wednesday he was told by TD party bosses not to disclose to the media that Anakapalle MP Avanthi Srinivas Rao got the written reply on the special state not being considered for AP. The MP said his colleagues got copies of the reply and distributed them to the media in their enthusiasm.
Read: Centre must grant special category status to AP: Chandrababu Naidu
He added that after bifurcation, residuary AP lost Hyderabad city, a major revenue source for the state, to TS and this led to residuary AP registering huge revenue deficit in the budget.
However, the Centre has been insisting that it was aware of the problems and will sanction and release funds the state is eligible to receive. The TD MP said that the Centre needs to release some funds due to the state, especially to local bodies.
Read: Special status for AP: Cat-and-mouse game starts in TD, BJP camps
When Mr Jaitley referred about more funds from Nabard that would be available for the Polavaram project, Biju Janata Dal MPs from Odisha started shouting slogans against the project.
“Odisha has been objecting to the project and has even filed a case in Supreme Court. When clearance for the project is pending before the Apex Court, how can the Centre announce more funds for it?” they shouted. When Mr Jaitely continued with his speech saying that the Centre was committed to complete the project, the BJD MPs staged a walkout.
