india

Updated: Apr 11, 2018 16:44 IST

Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of diverting people’s attention from his inability to resolve contentious issues with a day-long fast on April 12.

“This is ridiculous and an attempt to run away from the crucial issues raised by the Opposition parties in the just-concluded Parliament session,” Naidu, the BJP’s friend-turned-foe said in a chat with media persons on the sidelines of a dinner hosted for delegates attending the three-day Happy Cities Summit that began in Amaravati.

The Prime Minister will fast in New Delhi on April 12 to protest against the disruption of Parliamentary proceedings by opposition parties. Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah will sit on fast in Karnataka while party MPs will do so across the country.

“Who is responsible for the logjam in Parliament? Was it not the NDA government which was behind the AIADMK MPs, who stalled the proceeding of Lok Sabha, to avoid facing the no-confidence motion proposed by the Opposition?” Naidu asked.

He felt if the Centre really wanted, it could have constituted the Cauvery Board as demanded by the AIADMK. “The Supreme Court ordered that the Cauvery Board be constituted and the Centre could have done to do it to resolve the decades-long dispute (between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu). Who stopped Modi from doing it?” he said.

The chief minister said it was wrong on the part of the Prime Minister to blame it on the Opposition for the Parliament logjam. “Our MPs thoroughly exposed the deceit of the NDA government in not fulfilling the promises made in AP Reorganisation Act, including granting of special category status to AP,” he said.

The TDP pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in March over the Centre’s refusal to grant special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh after 14th Finance Commission removed the SCS concept.

Reiterating his government’s commitment to continue the developmental programmes in the state with or without the central government’s assistance, Naidu said the Centre had granted a pittance to the state for the construction of Amaravati, the new capital city of the state.

“The farmers had voluntarily surrendered 34,000 acres of their land worth over Rs 55,000 crore for building the capital. But the Centre had given just Rs 1,500 crore,” he said.

Naidu said the state was going ahead with the construction of the capital involving private sector without waiting for the Central assistance. “If the Centre extends help, we will welcome it. Even otherwise, we would go ahead with the works with people’s cooperation. Several NRIs are coming forward to contribute their might for creating a world-class capital city,” he added.

Asked why the Centre had not come forward to help Andhra Pradesh overcome the bifurcation blues, the chief minister said the BJP, perhaps, thought of gaining political mileage by weakening the state and forcing the TDP government to surrender before it for funds.

“They wanted to gain control over the state by weakening the allies. But the TDP is a very strong party. That is why they have started looking for weak allies. They are joining hands with a party which is tainted with corruption and targeting us,” he alleged.

But Naidu did not name any party.