BJP not sensitive to aspirations of AP, pointless to continue alliance: Naidu writes to Amit Shah

Earlier today, the TDP walked out of the ruling NDA, with its 22 lawmakers, ending its four-year-old alliance with BJP

HYDERABAD: In a four-page letter to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has said that it was pointless to continue in an alliance that doesn’t serve any purpose.

“(We entered) Joined alliance with expectation that our people will get justice. We hoped that our state will get fair treatment.When our being in the alliance doesn’t serve that purpose, we feel that it is pointless to continue,” wrote the Telugu Desam Party or TDP chief.

“Today, a feeling is gaining ground in our state that BJP is not sensitive to the aspirations of our people,” he added.

"We feel the government headed by it is not willing to implement in letter and spirit the provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act and the assurances given by the then Prime Minister in Rajya Sabha," he said.

The letter, however, did not allude to about 'collusion' between BJP and other parties (YSR Congress and Jana Sena).

Naidu said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement on March 7 to the media made it clear that the Centre was not willing to respect the promises made to the five crore people of Andhra Pradesh.

"On that day, our Union Ministers have exited the Council of Ministers. We expected that before the passage of the Finance Bill, necessary modifications will be made to do justice to the people of AP. But now the Budget was passed and our state has not got justice," the Chief Minister said.

He further recalled that Narendra Modi, the then Prime Ministerial candidate, in his public meetings in Andhra Pradesh, had emphatically assured the people that he would give special category status as well as help the state build a capital city much better than Delhi.

"We were told that the 14th Finance Commission recommended against granting of SCS to any state. Although this was a contestable interpretation of the Finance Commission's report, we went along with it because we were promised that all facilities and incentives that are enjoyed by SCS states will be extended to us in the form of special assistance, except the nomenclature. Sadly, that was not to be," he said.

Earlier today, the TDP walked out of the ruling NDA, with its 22 lawmakers - 16 in Lok Sabha and six in Rajya Sabha, ending its four-year-old alliance with BJP. The decision was taken unanimously by the TDP politburo this morning. 

While this may not affect the government in the Lok Sabha, it could pose problems in the Upper House.

The TDP, along with Jagan Reddy-led YSR Congress, moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in Lok Sabha.