The issues include promises made by the Narendra Modi government regarding the AP Reorganisation Act including assurances of a special package for the sate and granting of special status to Andhra Pradesh.
The Prime Minister tried to persuade Union Minister of TDP Sujana Choudary asking him to withdraw the protest promising that he would look into his party's concerns. Even Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Anant Kumar tried their best by calling AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and a few TDP MPs seeking their cooperation in smooth conduct of the Budget Session.
But TDP MPs remained adamant and refused to hear them unless some specific assurances were given. Chandrababu Naidu and TDP MPs have even threatened to walk out of the NDA if the Modi regime continues to ignore the interests of Andhra Pradesh.
However, BJP ministers ultimately succeeded in persuading the TDP MPs to remain calm during PM Modi's speech in the Parliament, indicating that he would give some assurances during the course of his speech. But to the disappointment of TDP members, Narendra Modi failed to give any such assurances favouring Andhra. Instead of referring to his government's commitments towards the people of Andhra Pradesh, he focused his entire speech on launching a blistering attack on the Congress and its first family.
Modi accused the Congress of dividing Andhra Pradesh for political gains, alleging that it was due to this hasty decision of the UPA government that Andhra Pradesh was facing several problems even after four years of being divided.
By keeping his entire focus on the Congress, Modi tried to divert the people from TDP's criticism against his own government for failing to meet the commitments made for the development of Andhra Pradesh. He even went to the extent of bringing up the name of TDP's founder NT Rama Rao, stating that it was only the humiliation of AP's Chief Minister T Anjaiah, a Dalit, by Rajiv Gandhi at the Hyderabad airport, which prompted NTR to join politics leaving his film career, and by establishing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
However, after the Prime Minister's speech, Chandrababu Naidu said that he was totally disappointed. "He (Modi) showered sympathies towards people of Andhra Pradesh without listing out any move from his government to resolve pending issues", he said.
Naidu also questioned Arun Jaitley's statement in the Rajya Sabha on the previous day that there was no formula to decide revenue deficit of a state and his ministry would discuss with AP's finance officials to chalk out some formula. Naidu wondered that after four years Jaitley now wants to formulate a policy to cover up revenue deficit.
Likewise, TDP member in the Lok Sabha Galla Jayadev warned the Centre that the people of Andhra were not fools to be carried away with empty and inane promises. The industrialist-turned politician while speaking during a debate which the Speaker had allowed in the Lok Sabha on issues relating to Andhra, said that promises made by the Centre were not backed by action which had led to despair and frustration among the people. He said the Centre had committed itself to honour all the 19 assurances made in the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014 and special package announced in September 2016 but no action had followed. People are not ready to be taken for a ride, he said repeatedly.
"The Centre has allocated substantial sums of money for Metro Rail projects in Bengaluru and Mumbai, but it did not bother to mention even the names of Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam metro-rail projects. If you do not keep promises, you would have to face a tough time in elections," he warned.
He recalled that although AP's Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had visited Delhi thirty times, but no promise made to the state was implemented. It is surprising that though the TDP was BJP's ally, it was still facing discrimination.
