Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is planning to protest against the NDA government for ignoring its election promise of granting special status to the State, by going on a day-long hunger strike in New Delhi on Monday.
He announced the decision in the State Assembly at Amaravati on Friday, the last day of the Budget session, while replying to the debate on the Vote-on-Account Budget.
Accusing the NDA government led by the BJP, in particular Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of going back on the promises made to the AP people in 2014 during the joint election campaign by the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP, Naidu alleged that the Prime Minister simply did not bother about the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the promise of granting special category status to the State made by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha, and his (Prime Minister Modi's) own promises made to the people in 2014.
“The Prime Minister is planning to visit the State later this month. What will he tell the people of Andhra Pradesh at Guntur and Visakhapatnam where he is planning to hold meetings?” the Chief Minister wondered.
He also criticised the Rafale deal, demonetisation and the Prime Minister’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
“Yesterday, the honourable Prime Minister castigated the Congress for its subversive role in the past in toppling State governments right from the Namboodiripad-Government of Kerala in 1959 to the NTR government in the early 1980s. Today, the Karnataka Chief Minister has openly accused the BJP's State unit of destabilising his government,” Naidu said.
It is learnt that Naidu will undertake his protest programme in the Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi from 8 am to 8 pm.