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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought additional financial support of Rs 10,000 crore for various projects. On his second day of the visit, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief -- a key NDA ally -- highlighted that the state is still facing a deficit of financial resources due to bifurcation, an official release said. Naidu requested the central government to grant an additional allocation of Rs 10,000 crore under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme for 2025-26. He sought the release of the second tranche of funds as a grant to Amaravati capital, and appealed to the Union Minister to make up for the revenue deficit faced by the state under the 16th Finance Commission. He submitted a memorandum requesting financial support for various state projects. The chief minister informed Sitharaman that the construction of Amaravati requires a total of Rs 79,280 crore, with work
The TDP urged the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday to give adequate time to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh, saying it should not be held within six months of a major poll and the voters already enrolled in the latest roll be not required to reestablish their identity. The suggestions offered by the BJP ally to the poll watchdog come amid a political row over the ongoing SIR in Bihar as its implementation close to the Assembly polls in the eastern state and the burden of proof on prospective voters in many cases have drawn criticism from opposition parties. "The SIR's purpose must be clearly defined and limited to electoral-roll correction and inclusion. It should be explicitly communicated that the exercise is not related to citizenship verification, and any field instructions must reflect this distinction," a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) delegation told the EC. Batting for the "presumption of inclusion", it said the voters who are alrea
The prime accused in the alleged Rs 3,200 crore liquor scam during the erstwhile YSRCP regime has "confessed" that former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had endorsed him to chalk out an excise policy which would generate revenues for the state and party (YSRCP), said a SIT official in his remand report. However, the YSRCP rejected the charges, criticising the TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh for orchestrating a politically motivated liquor scam narrative against party leaders and employing media propaganda to propagate it. "During the confession, he (Kasireddy Raja Sekhar Reddy) stated that Jagan Mohan Reddy, the then chief minister, endorsed him to chalk out an excise policy by which more revenue is generated for the state enabling the government to use the same for welfare measures on one side and to get party fund on the other side," said the report. However, Reddy refused to sign his "confessional statement", it added. Reddy, who was arrested recently, has been ...
Southern states, where fertility rates have fallen well below replacement levels, face problematic increases in dependency ratios and ageing populations in the longer run, said Sixteenth Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Wednesday. The Commission embarked on a four-day tour of Andhra Pradesh from April 15 to 18 and held wide-ranging deliberations with the TDP-led NDA government today at the Secretariat. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking funds for the state, gave a detailed presentation to the Commission. Panagariya, addressing a press conference, noted that Naidu argued there is a need to look beyond the yardstick of rewarding states for bringing down total fertility rate to replacement level. "Southern states in particular, where fertility rates have fallen well below replacement levels, face problematic increases in dependency ratios and ageing populations in the longer run," he said. He observed that Andhra Pradesh has recommended increas
The opposition YSRCP on Friday accused the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh of sheltering online abusers, particularly those targetting women. YSRCP spokesperson Shyamala made the allegations in the wake of TDP worker C Kiran Kumar's arrest for allegedly abusing former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's wife. Kumar was arrested based on a complaint, produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody on Friday, Guntur SP S Satish told PTI. The arrest of Kumar is a staged drama, and even though he named N Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Lokesh as the instigators, yet no action was taken. Is law applied selectively? asked Shyamala in the press release. The YSRCP leader slammed Andhra Pradesh Home Minister V Anita over her remarks on Reddy's family, claiming no action was taken. She wondered why people allegedly spreading hatred were being protected. Shyamala criticised iTDP a social media wing of TDP for allegedly spreading venom across platforms. Despite YSRCP leaders' compla
NDA ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday urged the government to consider providing flexibility to the states to determine the composition of Waqf boards. Participating in the debate on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, TDP MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti said the Centre while framing rules to the Act should consider providing flexibility to the states to decide the composition of Waqf boards. He hoped that the Centre would consider the suggestion of giving flexibility to the state governments with regard to composition of boards in their respective states in the interest of Muslim women, youth and downtrodden. This step will ensure the TDP's dedication of inclusive growth and welfare of communities, he said. The bill seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995 to address issues in regulating and managing Waqf properties. Waqf boards oversee 8.7 lakh properties across 9.4 lakh acres in India, valued at Rs 1.2 lakh crore. The bill proposes removing Section 40 of the Waqf Act, whi
The Lok Sabha will take up the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill for discussion and passage on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown between a government determined to push it through and an opposition united in condemning the proposed law as unconstitutional. Rajya Sabha is expected to take it up on Thursday, with the two Houses allocated eight hours each for debating the proposed law. Some BJP allies, sources said, continue to push for more changes in the bill. A senior member of a BJP ally expressed hope that the saffron party will accommodate their views, stressing that some of their concerns were addressed by the Joint Committee of Parliament which scrutinised the bill. However, he emphasised that the NDA will remain united on the issue. TDP and JD(U), the two biggest constituents of the NDA after the BJP, issued whips to their MPs asking them to support the government stand. The opposition INDIA bloc also presented a united face on Wednesday as its parties discussed th
The opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, YSRCP, on Friday took out statewide protests and rallies opposing power tariff hikes in the southern state under the TDP-led NDA government. YSRCP leaders and cadres protested at several places across the state, including Nellore, Chittoor, Krishna, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Kurnool and others. "Within six months' time, Chandrababu (CM) steeply hiked prices (power tariffs), levying an additional burden of Rs 15,000 crore on the people of the state," said YSRCP in a post on 'X'. In Nellore rural constituency, YSRCP leaders A Vijay Kumar Reddy and K Govardhan Reddy participated in the protest. They garlanded a statue of YS Rajasekhar Reddy and then they displayed a video claiming that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had promised not to hike power tariff. At Punganuru in Chittoor district, senior YSRCP leader and former minister P Ramachandra Reddy undertook a rally amid rainfall, demanding the roll back of hiked power tariffs. He wa
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday unveiled the "Swarna Andhra-2047" vision document, aimed at achieving a 'wealthy, healthy and happy' Andhra Pradesh. The chief minister announced it during a public meeting at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium here, which encompasses 10 principles (padi sutralu) and one vision to accomplish a golden future for the southern state. Zero poverty, employment, skilling and human resources development, water security, farmer-agri tech and best global logistics were some of the 10 principles. Others include cost optimisation of energy and fuel, product perfection, swachh (clean) Andhra and incorporating deep tech in all walks of life. During the recent second district collectors conference at the Secretariat in Amaravati, Naidu stressed that the TDP-led NDA government's governance will be based on the Swarna Andhra-2047 vision at state, district, mandal and panchayat levels. Naidu introduced the SwarnaAndhra@2047 vision document during the .
Senior YSRCP leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister M Srinivasa Rao (Avanti) on Thursday resigned from the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party, citing 'personal reasons', even as he alleged there was no respect for functionaries and cadres in the organisation. Besides resigning from the party, the former Tourism minister also withdrew from his responsibilities of overseeing YSRCP's affairs in Bheemili Assembly constituency. "As I have decided to stay away from politics due to personal reasons, I am resigning from the YSRCP and Bheemili constituency in-charge responsibilities," Rao said in his resignation letter to party chief Reddy. He thanked the former chief minister for the opportunities bestowed on him. Further, the education tycoon alleged there was no respect for YSRCP leaders and cadres, both politically and financially, in the opposition party. According to Rao, YSRCP party leaders and activists have suffered and endured a lot in the past five years. He added that asking th
Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh has said that the construction and developmental works by the government and private sectors in and around the capital Amaravati, worth USD 7.5 billion (Rs 63,000 crore) will start soon. Lokesh, who is currently touring the USA, has appealed to industrialists to invest in the state, which has a favourable environment in all aspects. "I explained that various construction and development works will be started in the vicinity of the capital Amaravati with USD 3 billion in the government sector and USD 4.5 billion dollars in the private sector," Lokesh said in a social media post on Sunday night. He further said new green field seaports are coming up at Machilipatnam, Ramayapatnam, Kakinada and Moolapet areas of the state. He also said the upcoming Visakhapatnam International Airport at Bhogapuram is set to boost large-scale economic activities there. The work on the airport will be completed in the next 18 months. The minister said an AI (artifici