Telugu Desam Party President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday reiterated that the Centre had the moral responsibility to fulfil the promises made to his state in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament.
He was replying to the debate on the Governor's address in the assembly.
Amid speculation that the TDP would break away from the BJP - led NDA as the latter was not conceding the demands of the state for grant of Special Category Status (SCS) that brings more central assistance for developmental works along with incentives for industrial promotion, Naidu attacked the Centre but did not announce any major political decision.
In his more than two - and - half - hour - long statement, he listed all the assurances pending implementation by the Centre and said the state would have progressed more had there been cooperation from the Centre as expected.
He asserted that he would not compromise on the interests of the state and the fight to mount pressure on the Centre would continue.
Naidu denied the charge that Utilization Certificates (UCs) were not provided for the funds released by the Centre for various schemes and projects.
He said UCs were furnished for all the funds, except for certain heads under the Polavaram multipurpose irrigation project, which did not require such UCs.
Interestingly, BJP legislators adopted a soft approach towards Naidu, assuring him that they would take up with the Centre the pending issues.
Vishnu Kumar Raju of BJP assured Naidu that he would impress upon the Centre to give the state what is due to it.
"My wife also questions me why the Centre is not granting special status to Andhra, " he told the assembly.
Responding to Chandrababu Naidu's mention that the Centre had issued orders for extension of the tax reimbursement under the SCS to northeast states, Raju said the order pertained to old dues and was not prospective in effect.
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