Chandrababu Naidu urges PM to do justice to Andhra

Under pressure to get special statue to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over phone and urged him to do justice to the state.

Naidu told reporters here Wednesday evening that he conveyed his views to the prime minister over the issue of special status.

"I conveyed to him that injustice was done to Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation and reminded him that BJP had then raised its voice for doing justice and he (Modi) had made the promise. I told him that it is now the time to fulfill it," he said.

Modi invited Naidu, also the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, to come to New Delhi after August 15 to meet him.

Naidu, whose party is a partner in BJP-led NDA government, said he would discuss special status and all the issues in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act with Modi. He said the state need hand-holding from the central government till it achieves level-playing field.

The chief minister said he spoke to central ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley, Nirmala Sitaraman and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah over phone on Tuesday.

Stating that Andhra Pradesh inherited many problems from bifurcation of the state, he said he so far spoke to the prime minister eight times over the issue of special status and also discussed with several union ministers.

Naidu reminded the central government that special status was given to 11 states,, which helped them get 90 percent grant and 10 percent loan from the central government. "Andhra Pradesh should not be compared with other states," he said referring to the recent statement made by the government in parliament that special status will not be accorded to any state.

He pointed out that injustice was done to Andhra Pradesh in every matter since bifurcation. The state has been facing problems from division of educational institutions to shifting of employees.

"Most states in India have capitals that support the states economically. Andhra Pradesh has been left in the lurch without a capital," he said.

"We have revenue deficit, no major industries or revenue sources. This has made our youth go without jobs. Yet, we are trying to progress," he said.

Naidu recalled that Telangana with 42 percent of population was given 56 percent share in revenues while Andhra Pradesh which had 58 percent population was allotted only 44 percent.

The TDP chief also targeted Telangana government for its attitude on various issues. He said since Hyderabad was declared joint capital for 10 years, the governor should be given special powers to maintain law and order in the city.