New Delhi: The Telugu Desam Party pulled out from the NDA government at the Centre on Thursday over its demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh after months of strained ties with alliance partner BJP.
Civil aviation minister, Ashok Gajapati Raju, and minister of state for science and technology, YS Chowdary, went to the PM’s residence to hand over their letters of resignation.
While Raju conveyed gratitude in his brief resignation letter, Chowdary mentioned that the prevailing circumstances in his constituency and the decision of the TDP chief left him with no option but to resign.
A last ditch effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to broker peace in a 10-minute long phone conversation with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu also failed.
According to sources, Naidu told the PM that he was left with no choice but to quit the government after finance minister Arun Jaitley ruled out giving special status to the state on Wednesday.
At a press conference after submitting their resignation, the two outgoing ministers reiterated what Naidu has said - that the people of AP have sacrificed a lot and they quit from the Centre to fulfill their wishes.
They also said that although they have quit the central government, they would continue to support and be a part of the NDA. “Yes, there are problems, but solutions are being worked out,” Raju
said.
“We continue to support the NDA, but there were certain commitment given by national parties and now everyone in Andhra Pradesh wants that. My party directed us to resign,” he added.
Chowdary echoed Raju and said that apart from the BJP, Congress too had failed the state. “Promises made by then PM Manmohan Singh on the floor of Rajya Sabha must be fulfilled,” he said.
Revealing what transpired at the PM’s residence, he said that both he and Raju thanked the PM for giving the opportunity to serve under him. “The PM said that he is with the people of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
At an emergency press briefing on Wednesday night, Naidu had announced that the two ministers would resign, but the TDP would remain in alliance with the BJP, for now. A decision on whether it would also end the alliance would be taken at a later date.
In response, two BJP ministers also resigned from the Andhra Pradesh cabinet on Thursday morning. BJP ministers, K Srinivasa Rao and T Manikyala Rao, submitted their resignation to the Andhra Pradesh Speaker.
The Andhra CM had said that Arun Jaitley’s statement was the last straw. “I laid out all the demands concerning special status for the state to the Centre, but the finance minister made it clear that he cannot give it. What is the purpose of joining the Cabinet when the Centre cannot resolve the state’s problems?” he asked.
Referring to Jaitley’s statement that the Centre had already given Rs 4,000 crore to the state, he said that the government is more interested in showing calculations than helping out.
“You were part of the bifurcation. Now comparing us with other states is not right. It’s not right to say that sentiments will not get funds. It is like degrading our state,” he said.
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