Andhra CM Naidu to fast on April 20 to 'fight against Centre, PM Modi'

Andhra CM also accused the prime minister of the washout of the Parliament

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will observe a day-long hunger strike here on his birthday, April 20, in protest against the Centre's non-cooperation towards the state.

During an event to mark Ambedkar Jayanti in Guntur district, the Chief Minister unveiled the designs of 'Ambedkar Smriti Van' to be built in Amravati spreading over 20 acres with a cost of Rs 1 billion.

While addressing the gathering, he announced that he will sit on fast on his birthday i.e., April 20 as part of his fight over the central government demanding to fulfil assurances made in Rajya Sabha including Special Category Status and provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

He even accused the prime minister of the washout of the Parliament.

"April 20 is my birthday and on that day I will sit on hunger strike from dusk till dawn. A few days back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also observed a hunger strike for the washout of the parliament session, but in reality, he is the reason for the non-functioning of the Parliament," he added.

 

The Chief Minister made it clear that he will not compromise on securing interests of the state. The Chief Minister said that a huge public meeting will be organised in Tirupati on April 30 with the theme 'Let us save the state from betrayal and conspiracies'.

He appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh to give the TDP all 25 MP seats to play a crucial role at the Centre. The Chief Minister added that he is fighting against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also said, ''Prime Minister Modi is junior to me in Politics. I became Chief Minister in 1995 whereas Prime Minister Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2002."

Naidu appealed to everyone to cooperate on his one day fasting on April 20. He reminded that four years back, Narendra Modi as a Prime Ministerial candidate promised Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh at the abode of Lord Balaji in Tirupati.

"It is very unjust to not implement that promise. We want to remind the nation of his promises which is why a huge public meeting will be organised on April 30in Tirupati", he said.

The Andhra Pradesh politicians have been demanding SCS for Andhra Pradesh, which was promised by the Center during the bifurcation of the state in 2014.

Ahead of the 2014 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forged an alliance with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with the promise to grant the status to the state.

The Andhra ruling party and the BJP-ruled Centre have been at the loggerheads ever since the announcement of 2018-19 Union Budget.

The TDP alleged that the Centre ignored the demand of the status to Andhra Pradesh in the budget, while the latter brushed aside the charges.

On March 16, the ruling TDP reached a deadlock with BJP over this issue and ultimately quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition.