Andhra CM meets Modi, seeks fulfilment of commitments

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and urged him to fulfill the commitments made by the central government in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Naidu requested the prime minister to speed up the process of according special status to Andhra Pradesh and to provide funds to cover the entire revenue deficit of the state, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) sources said in Hyderabad.

Naidu, whose party is a partner in BJP-led NDA government, met the prime minister and some central ministers with a long wish list.

He also understood to have urged Modi to allocate funds for development of new state capital and for construction of Polavaram dam, which was declared a national project in the act.

Naidu, who is also TDP chief, wanted the central government to immediately extend tax incentives to Rayalaseema and north Andhra as committed by the then UPA government in the parliament.

Naidu discussed with Modi and central ministers various issues included in the act and sought immediate measures to fulfill the commitments.

On the first day of his two-day visit, Naidu met Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and urged her expedite the preparation of the Bill for providing industrial incentives to Andhra Pradesh.

The chief minister also called Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and discussed the issue of setting up mega food parks and cold storage facilities in the state.

He is also scheduled to meet union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati.

Meanwhile, Naidu told reporters in the national capital that he and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao decided to work together to solve the outstanding issues between the two states in the interest of people.

The TDP chief said Andhra Pradesh continued to reel under the impact of bifurcation. He said the state faced huge revenue deficit and it had no educational institutions. "There is a crisis and there is also an opportunity," he remarked.

Naidu said his government had prepared vision 2029 document and also created seven missions for the state's development.