Finance Minister Arun Jaitley declared in Rajya Sabha yesterday that the Centre is making efforts to honour all its commitments towards Andhra Pradesh and it will work out a formula to release a special package of funds for the state soon.
While addressing the Upper House following protests by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) parliamentarians, the union minister said his government is working out an external mechanism to extend financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh. He explained that he has directed his expenditure secretary to immediately call the state’s finance secretary to Delhi and work out all procedural formalities.
Immediately after Jaitley had delivered Modi government’s last full budget on 1st this month, parliamentarians from the southern state had begun protesting against the lack of budgetary allocations promised by the Centre under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. MPs belonging to TDP, YSR Congress and the Congress party had been raising slogans in both Houses to express their disappointment.
On the day after the budget, upset TDP leaders had gone into a huddle with party chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to decide on whether to continue their alliance with BJP or chart their own course. They decided to stay on in BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but also assert pressure on the government by using the Parliament to raise their concerns.
During an interview to an English news channel this week, Jaitley had promised to fulfil the government’s commitments towards Andhra Pradesh and had assuaged fears of a split by claiming that NDA will stay united before the upcoming 2019 general elections. TDP is BJP’s biggest ally in the southern part of India. Its party head, Chandrababu Naidu, shares very good relations with PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.