Squarely blaming the BJP for the issuance of the non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him by a court in Dharmabad in Maharashtra, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said he was not “afraid of cases” or exertion of pressure on him.
“So far, 26 cases were slapped against me. None were proved. I shall not backpedal and compromise. My fight for the rights of the State will continue,” he said. Mr. Naidu, however, said he would seek legal opinion on the future course of action.
During a short discussion on non-implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act by the Centre in the Assembly, Mr. Naidu said the BJP being in power in Maharashtra and at the Centre was aware that the warrant was being issued. In addition, the BJP was blaming him that he was trying to gain sympathy out of the NBW. The BJP’s sole objective was to weaken the Telugu Desam in the Telugu States.
The BJP Telangana unit unilaterally announced that there would not be any alliance with the TDP. In AP, the BJP had a tacit understanding with the YSR Congress Party.
To create a rift between the Telugu States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi planned to step up the dubiety between the two Chief Ministers.
‘Right turn’
“I was called immature, while Telangana CM as mature. Mr. Modi also charged me with taking ‘U’ turn [on Special Package]. It was not U turn but right turn.” The people were watching the “hidden agenda” of the BJP, Mr. Naidu said. Referring to the Reorganisation Act, the Chief Minister extensively compared the funds sanctioned and released to Gujarat, Maharashtra and other States where the BJP was in power with those for Andhra Pradesh. “If the Centre showed at least 5% of affection it has shown to these BJP-ruled States, we would have been way ahead.” It was surprising that the BJP felt projects across the country were feasible and viable except those in Andhra Pradesh. Thousands of crores were sanctioned and released to projects be it the Dholera smart city or the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) or bullet train. But the Centre released peanuts to Amaravati capital city. It was not taking any initiative to help Andhra Pradesh to come out of the losses suffered due to the bifurcation. Instead, it was creating hurdles in the development, he alleged. “Dharma poratam will continue until the Centre heeds to AP’s genuine demands.”
Earlier, BJP floor leader P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, TDP MLAs V. Prabhakar Choudary, S.V. Mohan Reddy, G.V. Anjaneyulu and others spoke.