When Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely declared in the Parliament that there was no possibility of granting special status to Andhra Pradesh, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu called for a press conference in Vijayawada and expressed his displeasure at Jaitely's statement and even said he would go to any extent to bring pressure on the Centre.
Reacting to Naidu’s threats, YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy alleged that Naidu was afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hence, he did not call the national media to the press conference. Naidu did not react to this allegation then.
But on Friday, Naidu spoke at length to the national media which he had called to Vijayawada for Krishna Pushkarams.
He pooh-poohed Jagan’s allegation that he was afraid of Modi. He openly demanded that Modi should come out with a clear stand as to whether he would give special category status to AP or not.
“The financial assistance of Rs 1900 crore announced on Friday is not sufficient even to lay telephone lines or drainage lines. We were promised a Bundelkhand like Special Package in the Parliament. This is nowhere near that,” Naidu said.
