Refusal of special status to Andhra: TDP to pull out 2 ministers from Centre

Hyderabad: In a major turn of events, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that his party Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has decided to pull out two of its ministers from the government over the Centre's refusal to give Andhra Pradesh central funding under a "special status".

Also Read: Would like to see BJP reaction: Chandrababu Naidu on pulling out 2 ministers

The decision which announced late on Wednesday was taken at a marathon meeting with party MLAs, hours after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was seen to suggest that it would be difficult for the government to give Andhra "special status".

Also Read: AP CM Chandrababu Naidu bites the bullet, pulls out of Modi Cabinet​

Chandrababu Naidu said the two ministers will send in their resignations on Thursday morning as the Centre had not kept its promises.

Latest developments in this story:

• TDP Chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who had joined the NDA 46 months ago, did not explicitly talk about exiting the alliance but made his disappointment clear. "It was with a specific purpose that we joined the government.... When that purpose is not being fulfilled, there is no use continuing in the cabinet," said the TDP chief
• Talking to NDTV, TDP MLA Ravindra Babu said that pulling out the ministers was the first step. The next "logical step" was to exit the alliance. The TDP chief, however, appeared to leave his option open. He said he would like to see how the Centre reacts to his party's decision and "then plan further course of action"
• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu repeatedly referred to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's media address earlier on Wednesday, sometimes to question him, and at others, to convey what he called was the centre's unwillingness to understand Andhra Pradesh's financial condition
• Arun Jaitley had insisted that the centre was compensating Andhra after bifurcation in 2004 for the amount a special status state gets. "Political issue cannot increase the funds... Sentiment does not increase the quantum of funds... We have to look at the country as a whole," Jaitley further added

Also Read: Special package better than status, says Arun Jaitley​

• The issue reignited after the Union Budget 2018 was present in the Parliament in February which disappointed TDP as Jaitley’s speech neglected Andhra Pradesh. The party faces extreme pressure in Andhra Pradesh ahead of Assembly elections and the general election in 2019, with opposition parties accusing Chandrababu Naidu of failing Andhra Pradesh by not ensuring special status for it as a partner at the Centre
• The TD had carried out an impromptu poll during the TDLP meet on Tuesday in which 95 per cent of the MLAs voted against the continuation of the alliance with the BJP, while 5 per cent of the MLAs wanted to wait and watch for some more time
• Ever since the Union Budget was presented in the Parliament, TDP ministers have been continuously pressuring the government and even disrupted the proceedings of the house by raising slogans demanding that Andhra Pradesh be given central funding under special status
• Other parties have joined in. Apart from Andhra Pradesh's chief opposition party the YSR Congress, MPs from the Congress and Trinamool Congress too protested in Parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday
• "We will give special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It's the first thing we will do after coming to power in 2019," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday, also urging opposition parties to unite to "force the BJP government to do justice to the people of Andhra."

Also Read: Will give special status to Andhra if voted to power, says Rahul Gandhi​

• Addressing the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday, Chandrababu Naidu made an emotional appeal. "Why won't you give us special status, it is our right, respect people's feeling," said the chief minister, adding that the "onus is on the Centre to clarify its position. We are not angry, we are asking for our rights." Naidu said he had visited Delhi 29 times over the demand
• According to reports, Chandrababu Naidu spoke to TDP ministers via teleconference and lashed out at the Centre saying it was "insulting the sentiments" of the people of the state by not honouring the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, and also in Parliament when the state was bifurcated to carve out a separate Telangana state. He said there would be "no compromise in protecting the state's interests. Let us bear whatever difficulty, but we will take a right decision at the right time."