Chandrababu Naidu Upset Over Budget 2018, Calls Party Meet Amid Strain in TDP-BJP Alliance

New Delhi, Feb 2: Upset over the Budget allocation for Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has called for a meeting with party leaders on Sunday in Amaravati to discuss the future cours

New Delhi, Feb 2: Upset over the Budget allocation for Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has called for a meeting with party leaders on Sunday in Amaravati to discuss the future course of action. The meeting comes a few days after the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief hinted at breaking alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shortly after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2018, union minister and TDP leader YS Chowdhary expressed disappointment over the resources allocated for Andhra Pradesh. However, Chowdhary maintained that the TDP is very well in alliance with the BJP, adding that the party leaders will put “pressure on the Centre until 2019 elections”.

“People and the party are disappointed with the Union Budget presented today. Many state issues like Railway Zone, Polavaram project funding, funding for capital Amaravati and other pending issues of Andhra Pradesh were not addressed in the budget,” the Minister of State for Science and Technology told news agency PTI. TDP lawmaker from Srikakulam, Ram Mohan Naidu said, “Chief Minister has paid many visits to Delhi, not once did Finance Minister mention his name during the budget speech”.

Responding to a question on the critical remarks made by some BJP leaders against his government, CM Chandrababu Naidu recently said, “If they don’t want an alliance, we will do the ‘namaskaram’ and chart our own course.” This came days after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena decided to break alliance with the BJP and go solo in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The TDP which is part of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA at the Centre has been demanding Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation in 2014, but the demand was rejected outright by the Centre. The TDP had also sided with the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP and its allies do not have a majority, to refer the controversial triple talaq bill to a select committee. (With PTI inputs)