Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday termed BJP president Amit Shah’s letter as an insult to people of the State.
Speaking in the State Legislative Assembly, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief alleged that the BJP chief tried to misrepresent the facts, hurting the sentiments of the Telugu people.
Defending his party’s decision to quit the BJP-led NDA, Mr. Naidu said this was done to respect the feelings of people, who were feeling betrayed by the Central government. He said the NDA did not discharge its responsibility towards its ally and the State.
The TDP leader alleged that BJP had done graver injustice to Andhra Pradesh than the Congress. He said while Congress bifurcated the State in an unjust manner, the BJP failed to fulfil the commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
Mr. Naidu’s reaction came hours after BJP released a letter written by Mr. Shah in which he stated that TDP’s decision to quit the NDA was unilateral “guided wholly and solely by political considerations instead of development concerns”. In a nine-page March 23 letter released on Saturday, Mr. Shah described as “untrue and baseless” the TDP chief’s allegations that the BJP was not sensitive to the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. Naidu took strong exception to the BJP president attributing ulterior motives to him. “You may have that habit, I don’t have,” he said, reacting to Mr. Shah’s remark that he was looking to divert the funds received from the Central government.
Slamming Mr. Shah for using some strong words in the letter, Mr. Naidu said it reflected the functioning of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Disputing Mr. Shah’s claim that the Central government extended all help to the State, he challenged him to come out with facts and respond to the points raised by him in his earlier letter.
The TDP chief read out excerpts from the letter written by him and Mr. Shah’s reply. He made a point-by-point rebuttal to assert that the Central government had failed to come to State’s rescue.
Mr. Naidu also told the Assembly that even the share in tax funds given to the State, which the Central government was obligated to disburse, were being shown under the assistance extended to the State during the last four years.
Earlier, Mr. Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh said BJP chief Amit Shah had no knowledge of the State’s issues.
He said the BJP chief wrote the letter without a complete understanding of the problems faced by the State.
Mr. Lokesh, who is also a Cabinet minister, denied Mr. Shah’s allegation that the State had not submitted utilisation certificates for the funds released by the Central government.
