Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has admitted that he cannot compete with his Telangana counterpart in development at least for another two years.
He told media that Andhra Pradesh does not have the kind of resources Telangana has. So, it is not possible for him to take up developmental works on the lines of KCR government.
“We have huge revenue deficit. Unless the Centre comes to our rescue in filling up the gap, we cannot catch up with the Telangana in development. It will take at least two years to achieve the level-playing field,” he said.
Naidu expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would consider the demand for special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
“I am expecting that there would be announcement from the Centre in this regard during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament itself,” he said.
He expressed view that the Congress should have linked up the special category status bill with the GST bill, so that the Centre would have succumbed to pressure and conceded the demand of AP.
However, Naidu had no answer whether the Centre would have granted the special status had the TDP threatened to withdraw from NDA.
