NDA waiting for TDP to accept Andhra's special package: Jaitley; updates

Aggrieved over Centre's denial of a special-category status to Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Friday walked out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Further, the TDP moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government over what it sees as injustice to the people of Andhra Pradesh. While Opposition parties, including the Congress, CPI(M), and AIMIM, extended their support for the motion, it could not be taken up amid sloganeering in the Lok Sabha. The decision to pull out of the NDA was taken after Chandrababu Naidu's teleconference with TDP members. TDP's politburo unanimously took the decision to exit the alliance. The Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party also issued the notice to move a no-trust motion on Friday. TDP's pullout comes on a day when its rival in the state, the Y S Jagnamohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSR Congress), moved a motion of no-confidence against the council of ministers in the Lok Sabha. On March 8, after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the TDP's Union ministers -- P Ashok Gajapati Raju and Y S Chowdary -- had quit the Cabinet. Raju had held the Union civil aviation ministry while Chowdary was the Minister of State for Science and Technology. The BJP on Friday said the exit of TDP from the NDA was "inevitable after its mischievous propaganda against the Centre" and asserted that the latter's exit is "a timely opportunity" for the saffron party to grow in Andhra Pradesh. "TDP's decision to quit was inevitable after its mischievous propaganda against the Centre," BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said in a tweet. "People of Andhra Pradesh have now realised that the Telugu Desam Party is resorting to lies to cover up its inept and inert governance. Far from being a threat, TDP's exit is a timely opportunity for the BJP to grow in Andhra Pradesh," Rao said. The decision comes against the backdrop of the Centre not only refusing to grant a special-category status to Andhra Pradesh, but Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley going on to categorically rule out any such possibility. Here are the top 10 developments in the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP's exit from the NDA and its split with the BJP: 1) FM says Centre endlessly waiting for Andhra to revert on special package Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the Centre was committed to giving Andhra Pradesh a special package equivalent to a special category state and has been endlessly waiting for the state government to revert on mechanism of receiving it. Jaitley said the modalities of giving the special package were agreed way back in September 2016 but the state government only in January this year suggested a change in route of receiving funds, to which the Centre agreed but has not heard from it ever since. "A solution has been put on the table. It is for Andhra Pradesh to decide whether they want the resources or they want to make an issue (out of it)," said he. 2) Shiv Sena non-committal on TDP's no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha Maintaining suspense, the Shiv Sena - a NDA constituent and oldest ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - remained non-committal on the Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) proposed no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha. While Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray has chosen to keep mum on the political developments in the national capital, party circles indicated he may soon convene a meeting of top party leaders, its MPs, MLAs and MLCs before finalizing its stand. The party has 18 Lok Sabha MPs. 3) AIADMK dubs TDP as 'opportunistic' AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar hit back at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) following their decision to cut ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), alleging that the decision was opportunistic in nature. "There were issues after the division of Andhra Pradesh. If there were issues all these years, then why weren't they raised? This shows merely an opportunistic nature,"said Jayakumar, a Tamil Nadu Member of Legislative Assembly. ALSO READ: AIADMK dubs TDP as 'opportunistic' 4) Parliament adjourned amid protests till Monday The proceedings in Parliament were washed out for the second consecutive weeks today due to protests by opposition parties, which also led to the failure of the Lok Sabha to take up notices for no-confidence motion against the NDA government moved by parties from Andhra Pradesh. While the Lok Sabha proceedings were first adjourned till noon and then for the day, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned straight till 2.30 PM and later for the day with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expressing anguish over the proceedings being paralysed ever since Parliament resumed its budget session on March 5 after a recess. In the Lok Sabha, the notices for the no-confidence motion, moved for the first time since the nearly four-year rule of the BJP-led alliance, were not taken up as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who said there was no order in the House and adjourned the proceedings for the day amid vociferous protests over various issues. 5) Modi government has enough numbers to defeat no-confidence motion Notwithstanding the TDP quitting the NDA, the BJP-led government still has a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha having the support of around 315 members and on its own has 274 -- well above the current halfway mark of 270. After the recent losses in the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar bypolls, the BJP on its own has 274 members and the allies account for 41 members. They include a sulking Shiv Sena (18), which has still not said which way it will vote in a no-confidence motion by the TDP. The others are the Lok Janshakti Party (6), Akali Dal (4), Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (3), Apna Dal (2), JD-U (2) and AINRC, JKPDP, NPP, PMK, SDF, Swabhimani Paksha -- all one each. The AIADMK, which had contested the 2014 polls against the BJP but is generally seen to be its ally, has 37 MPs. The TDP, which withdrew support to the Modi government and has moved a no-confidence motion, has 16 MPs while the YSRCP, which has also moved a no-confidence motion has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha. 6) Naidu says made 'all efforts for four years' before splitting: Speaking about the decision to part ways with the NDA, TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu told the state Assembly that he took the decision in the interest of Andhra Pradesh and not for selfish reasons. Referring to his party's demand for a special-category status for Andhra Pradesh, he said that he had made all possible efforts for four years and visited Delhi 29 times. According to news agencies, Naidu added, "This was Centre's last Budget and there was no mention of AP... we had to pull our ministers out of Cabinet."

We've quit NDA. I took the decision, not for selfish reasons,but for interests of AP. For 4-years I made all efforts, went to Delhi 29 times,asked many times. This was centre's last budget & there was no mention of AP,we had to pull our ministers out of cabinet: AP CM in assembly pic.twitter.com/zRtLdV5CgF

— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2018