Why should we pay taxes to Centre when Andhra gets no funds? CM Naidu asks

“The Centre has not been releasing funds for Amaravati because it does not want a world-class capital city to come up in Andhra," Naidu alleged.

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Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday continued his tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government.

Speaking on the occasion of TDP's 'Mahanadu', the annual party conclave, Naidu even asked if states should pay taxes to the Centre, if it does not get anything in return.

“The Centre has not been releasing funds for Amaravati because it does not want a world-class capital city to come up in Andhra Pradesh. Then why should we pay taxes to the Centre at all? The Centre is still not forthcoming in helping us build the capital city. Why? Doesn’t Andhra Pradesh need a capital city like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru?" Naidu was quoted as saying.

The TDP also found fault with the attention given to states by the ruling BJP government.

A resolution passed at the annual conclave stated, "The Centre is weakening the financial condition of states. The unilateral style of functioning of the Modi government has led to loss of trust of states in the central government. The states feel that the concept of federalism is only on paper. Misuse of central intelligence agencies and regulatory agencies to suppress the political opponents have become a matter of grave concern in the Indian polity."

Naidu also said that the BJP would be "dethroned" by a combination of regional parties.

At the meet, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu also echoed Naidu's sentiments and said that the BJP was 'against secularism'.

He also found fault with the Centre for ‘interfering’ in the working of the 15th Finance Commission.

The TDP leader slammed the Modi government, saying none of its populist slogans like 'Make in India', 'Startup India' and 'Standup India' yielded the desired results.

"Has anybody benefited from Modi's schemes?" asked the TDP leader in his inaugural address at the three-day meet.

He said demonetisation destroyed the Indian banking system and people had to run around the banks to get their own hard-earned money. He alleged that the Goods and Services Tax imposed a burden on the common man.

IANS inputs

Read: 'More talk, less action': AP CM Naidu attacks 4 years of Modi govt