Asserting that he is fighting for the rights of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday alleged that the BJP is trying to suppress his voice.
Naidu, also the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, accused the BJP of provoking some people to make allegations against him for demanding justice to the state.
He was making an oblique reference to YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan.
Naidu was addressing a group of Muslim leaders who called on him to show their solidarity in his fight with the BJP-led Central government.
Seeking support of Muslims and all other sections of people in his fight, the TDP chief said the BJP was trying to politically weaken him. "I am not an individual. They are trying to weaken the state," he said.
Claiming that he had joined the BJP-led NDA for the state's interests, he said that his party pulled out of government and exited the alliance as it had failed to deliver on the promises made to the state.
"They are now saying they will wage a war against me. War for what? Did I demand anything unjust? I only asked about the commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act and the promises made in Rajya Sabha (during bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh)," said Naidu, whose party has moved a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government.
Stating that he is fighting for the rights of five crore people of the state, the Chief Minister said the TDP would not rest till achieving the goal of special category status.
Naidu said the fight for state's rights should continue. "We should protest but at the same time we should ensure that the state doesn't suffer. We should protest like Japan by moving ahead on the path of development," he added.
The TDP leader assured the Muslims that the government will hire best lawyers and spent whatever money required to protect the four percent reservation enjoyed by the community in education and government jobs.
He claimed that TDP was the first party to raise its voice against triple talaq bill tabled in the Parliament, terming the bill was a deliberate attempt of bias against Muslims. "I made it clear that while I am against triple talaq, it is not correct to arrest the husband and jail him as his family and children will suffer," said Naidu.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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