Chandrababu Naidu sets deadline to wait till end of Budget session for AP funds

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has fixed the end of the current Budget session as the deadline for the Central government to take action on pending issues of the state, according to sources.

The Chief Minister had hinted at this during the party meeting on Sunday too. "We will wait till the end of this Budget session. If the Centre does not take any steps towards the pending issues of AP, there will be no option except taking the extreme step on the TD and the BJP alliance," Naidu said. Mr Naidu is of the opinion that the Centre must sort out some of the important financial issues before the end of this Budget session. Otherwise, there is no point sailing with the BJP as the people are angry.

Mr. Naidu wants the centre to release about Rs 3,500 crore towards resource gap for the year 2014-15. For capital city construction, he wants Rs 4,000 crore to `5,000 crore, and for Polavaram Project Rs 4,000 crore. Apart from this, the Centre has to allow borrowing from Nabard to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore as part of the special financial package announced by the Centre for AP in lieu of granting special status. TD leaders said that the Centre has to allow AP to borrow from Nabard at least Rs 4,000 crore immediately. Mr Naidu has told his close associates that if the Centre does not take any action on these issues, then he will take a "political decision".

Mr Naidu said if the TD continues its alliance with the BJP even after nothing was done for Andhra Pradesh in the Budget, the anger among the people will reflect in the next elections. Mr Naidu said "the people of AP are not angry at the TD. In fact, 85 per cent of people are happy with the TD government. But people are very angry at the BJP for its decisions taken at the Centre and also for not allotting funds properly to AP in the budget." A senior TD leader said that for a convention Centre in Gujarat, the centre has allotted Rs 2,300 crore in the Budget, but in AP, the Vijayawada and Vizag metro rail projects have been ignored.