March 08, 2018

Andhra 'Special status' issue LIVE: Quitting Cabinet but not NDA alliance, says TDP's Ashok Gajapathi Raju

Amaravati/New Delhi: The Telugu Desam Party-Bharatiya Janata Party divorce in the government was set in motion on Wednesday night with the TDP deciding to pull out of the Narendra Modi-led NDA cabinet at the Centre over the issue of 'Special Category Status' to Andhra Pradesh. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu last night announced that two of its ministers in the Modi government would submit their resignation on Thursday. However, he did not announce an immediate end to the ties with the BJP.

UPDATES:

*Will continue to be part of NDA, says TDP's Ashok Gajapathi Raju

*The two TDP MPs in the Union Cabinet, AG Raju & YS Choudhary leave after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister.

* Aviation Minister & TDP MP AG Raju arrives at YS Chowdary's residence. Both the TDP ministers will meet PM Modi at 6 pm according to news agency ANI

*AP CM Naidu explained to the PM about reasons leading to central ministers’ resignation & TDP withdrawing from Union Government: TDP Sources tell news agency ANI

*Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Chandrababu Naidu over the issue pertaining to extending special status to Andhra Pradesh. The two leaders spoke for about 40 minutes- sources told Times Now. The meeting comes a day after Naidu complained that his call to PM Modi was not answered. Later on Wednesday, Naidu announced that two of his TDP ministers would be pulling out of the Union Cabinet.

* A day after Chandrababu Naidu announced that leaders of his party TDP will quit the Cabinet, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today claimed that YSR Congress and other parties were creating "political pressure" with "false propaganda" on the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh, which may have forced Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to take such a step. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today claimed that YSR Congress and other parties were creating "political pressure" with "false propaganda" on the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh, which may have forced Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to take such a step.

* Ashok Gajapathy Raju, the TDP leader who is set to quit the NDA government along with his colleague YS Chowdary today said that they would be meeting the Prime Minister to submit their resignations. He said,"We are asking for an appointment with Prime Minister not for having a discussion about this problem, but to handover our resignations and thank him for allowing us to work in his team." He further told ANI, "Let us not get confused. When the state of Andhra Pradesh was made, the people did not want to be treated as a residue material. There were some assurances made. UPA govt made some commitments, now these commitments are the questions."

* Defending the Centre's stand on Bihar's demand for special state, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that India can only grow in NDA's regime. He said, "Nitish's govt has been demanding Bihar's special status for long and we've got a special package which is monetarily as beneficial as special status. But, despite this some people aren't satisfied and to them I will just say that India can only grow in NDA's regime.