Chandra Babu is in New Delhi to seek funds from the Centre. But looks his poll ally is not very keen on pampering the newly carved Andhra Pradesh vis-à-vis other states which are also demanding special status.
Addressing media, Chandra Babu said that the media must do its bit in lobbying for release of funds for Andhra Pradesh.
He said that during his time with Prime Minister Modi, he put forth his requests to the PM who closely followed his conversation. Though he did not make any immediate promises, Babu said that the PM did assure that he would look into the requests.
However, Babu maintains that while the state has been getting the usual funds allocated to AP, it hasn’t got any monies under the special status category.
On the other hand, Centre has been insisting that it cannot allot more funds to AP under special category. But Babu says he will continue to put pressure on Centre to consider AP’s case given the unique situation it is in.
Another issue where there seems to be a slight discord between the Centre and AP is regarding relief fund. Though the finance secretary made it clear that they had done their bit by issuing Rs 1000 crores as per the cyclone norms, Babu disclosed that he did promise to release the remaining amount at the earliest.
While Babu is putting up a brave face and maintains that he will continue to do his bit to seek funds from the Centre, it is quite obvious that Prime Minister Modi hasn’t made any specific promises, especially regarding allocation of funds for Andhra Pradesh.
