AP CM Naidu asks MPs to continue protest for 'Special Category Status'

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday asked Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Members of Parliament in New Delhi to continue their protest in parliament till a decision on providing 'Special Category Status' to the state by the Centre is achieved.

Interacting with MPs via teleconference, Naidu said the Centre must fulfill assurances it had given in the Rajya Sabha not too long ago.

"Centre must fulfill assurances made in the Rajya Sabha, including Special Category Status, provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, and give hand holding to the state. Until we achieve these, TDP MPs will continue to fight inside and outside Parliament," Naidu said.

Referring to the meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said details of all funds provided by the Centre in a timely manner have been submitted, and any allegation made on the same is incorrect.

"It is not correct on the part of the Centre to say that the state is not giving accounts of the utilisation of the funds provided by them," Naidu said.

"We have submitted utilisation certificates of all the funds we received from the Centre in a timely manner," he added.

As per party sources, Chief Minister Naidu said that around 95 percent of the MLAs, MLCs and MPs of the party do not want to continue the TDP-BJP alliance.

He said to him, the interests of the state are of utmost priority.

On Wednesday, TDP MPs staged a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue located in the parliament complex over their demand for a grant of "Special Category Status" for Andhra Pradesh.

No business was conducted in parliament on Monday and Tuesday in connection with the same issue.

The decision to grant SCS was announced in parliament and endorsed by opposition parties, including the BJP in 2014.

The SCS was announced in lieu of foregoing Hyderabad, which houses employment generating industries

-- ANI