In a full-frontal attack on the Centre, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expressed its unhappiness and discontent after Andhra Pradesh did not appear in the two-hour long budget speech of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"We are disappointed with the Union Budget. Many pressing state issues such as Railway Zone, Polavaram project funding, financial assistance for new capital Amaravati and other pending issues of Andhra Pradesh were not addressed in the budget," said YS Chowdhary, Telugu Desam's Parliamentary Party Leader and Union Minister of State for Science and Technology in the BJP led central government.
Andhra Pradesh was expecting substantial budgetary allocations for many key projects, as the state has been dealing with financial crisis after bifurcation.
TDP president and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu has called for an emergency meeting in Amaravati on February 4th to discuss the issues.
Despite personal efforts by Chandrababu Naidu, who visited New Delhi several times and met various Union Ministers and the Prime Minister to apprise them about various issues of the state, the TDP was left empty handed. This was the last budget before the 2019 elections and as a friendly ally, TDP had high expectations from it.
M Srinivasa Rao, MP from Anakapalli, said, "Railway Zone for Visakhapatnam is a two decades’ long demand and a sentimental issue for the people of AP. The Centre hasn't announced it yet. Also, the Centre released very meagre funds for the educational institutions being set up in AP. Our people feel neglected today."
Earlier, expressing disappointment over adverse comments by state BJP leaders against TDP government, Chandrababu Naidu had said that his party will also find its own way.
The relationship between BJP and TDP have soured in the last four years. But with Andhra Pradesh ignored in Budget ahead of crucial elections, it remains to be seen what course the alliance will take.
