Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju, MoS YS Chowdary resign over special status to Andhra
The ministers resigned on the instructions of TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who last evening accused the Modi government of not honouring its promise - of giving special category status to the state - and threatened to pull out of the NDA alliance.
- Mar 8, 2018,
- Updated Mar 8, 2018 8:13 PM IST
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary today submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh. The ministers resigned on the instructions from TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who last evening accused the Modi government of not honouring its promise - of giving special category status to the state - and threatened to pull out of the NDA alliance.
Read: Ashok Gajapathi Raju's Letter To PM MODI
Read: YS Chowdary's Letter To PM MODI
On Wednesday, Naidu said that the TDP joined the NDA government only to protect the interests of Andhra Pradesh following its bifurcation but claimed the Centre was taking unilateral decisions without thinking about solutions to the state's problems. His remarks came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out any possibility of giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh, citing constitutional obligations. The Finance Minister referred to the 14th Finance Commission's recommendation which does not permit special category status to a state except the north-eastern states and the three hilly provinces. However, Jaitley's remarks did not go well with the TDP chief who said: "Arun Jaitley's statement was the last straw. They are apparently predetermined. They don't appear to help the state." The Finance Minister in a press conference on Wednesday said that the government was committed to meeting all promises made to Andhra Pradesh at the time of carving out of Telangana four years back. "But giving special category status, as demanded by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, to any state apart from those in the North East and three hilly provinces is not constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendation." However, he said, the Centre would give Andhra Pradesh funds equivalent to what a special category status state gets. Under special category status, the states get 90 percent of the funds - required in centre-sponsored schemes - by the Union government. Normal states get 60 percent of funds from the Centre. Underlining this fact, Jaitley said: "Every state in India has the right to the central fund in the same manner. Sentiment does not decide the quantum of funds, it is the constitutional award of the Finance Commission which decides on the quantum of funds that the states get." TDP leader YS Chowdary today said he and his colleague Ashok Gajapathi Raju were stepping down as ministers as it was necessitated by 'unavoidable circumstances' but the party would continue to be part of the NDA. "It is not a good move, but unfortunately due to unavoidable circumstances, we had to take this move. We are stepping down as ministers, but our president has said we will be continuing as part of NDA," PTI quoted Chowdhary as saying. (With inputs from agencies)
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary today submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh. The ministers resigned on the instructions from TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who last evening accused the Modi government of not honouring its promise - of giving special category status to the state - and threatened to pull out of the NDA alliance.
Read: Ashok Gajapathi Raju's Letter To PM MODI
Read: YS Chowdary's Letter To PM MODI
On Wednesday, Naidu said that the TDP joined the NDA government only to protect the interests of Andhra Pradesh following its bifurcation but claimed the Centre was taking unilateral decisions without thinking about solutions to the state's problems. His remarks came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out any possibility of giving special category status to Andhra Pradesh, citing constitutional obligations. The Finance Minister referred to the 14th Finance Commission's recommendation which does not permit special category status to a state except the north-eastern states and the three hilly provinces. However, Jaitley's remarks did not go well with the TDP chief who said: "Arun Jaitley's statement was the last straw. They are apparently predetermined. They don't appear to help the state." The Finance Minister in a press conference on Wednesday said that the government was committed to meeting all promises made to Andhra Pradesh at the time of carving out of Telangana four years back. "But giving special category status, as demanded by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, to any state apart from those in the North East and three hilly provinces is not constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendation." However, he said, the Centre would give Andhra Pradesh funds equivalent to what a special category status state gets. Under special category status, the states get 90 percent of the funds - required in centre-sponsored schemes - by the Union government. Normal states get 60 percent of funds from the Centre. Underlining this fact, Jaitley said: "Every state in India has the right to the central fund in the same manner. Sentiment does not decide the quantum of funds, it is the constitutional award of the Finance Commission which decides on the quantum of funds that the states get." TDP leader YS Chowdary today said he and his colleague Ashok Gajapathi Raju were stepping down as ministers as it was necessitated by 'unavoidable circumstances' but the party would continue to be part of the NDA. "It is not a good move, but unfortunately due to unavoidable circumstances, we had to take this move. We are stepping down as ministers, but our president has said we will be continuing as part of NDA," PTI quoted Chowdhary as saying. (With inputs from agencies)