3 min readNew DelhiMay 28, 2016 06:21 AM IST
First published on: May 28, 2016 at 12:35 AM IST
Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who is a member of Parliament from Telugu Desam Party, an important partner of the BJP in the Central government, has said that comfort level for allies would be higher if party presidents met more often.
In an interview to The Indian Express on completing two years as a minister in the NDA government, Raju said, “I told Venkaiah Naidu that for us, it’s not a problem, but the comfort level will be higher probably if we met more often, say once in three months…”
Asked about Andhra Pradesh’s demands for special category status, he said, “I would like it to come. Everybody from Andhra wants it. But Siddaramaiah objected to it, Jaya objected, KCR objected, Naveen Patnaik objected… It was an issue raised by Venkaiah and (Arun) Jaitley in Parliament. Manmohan Singh (then Prime Minister) announced it. Rahul (Gandhi) said it was a decision of the Cabinet. Then why didn’t you put it in the Act. We needed discussions. Unfortunately, we never had…”
After the Finance Commission awards, Andhra is one of the states with a deficit. “The first year deficit budget was supposed to be taken by the government of India. Before the formation of the state, the Governor estimated the deficit at Rs 16,000-odd crore. The rest of the things were taken care of by the Finance Commission. We have come to the second year now. The Centre has given Rs 2,800 crore. For the government of India, to give this upfront is not easy. But for a state, particularly one with a deficit, it is very difficult,” he said.
Raju said a lot of institutions were committed in the Reorganisation Act.
“The state has moved in and made land available, investments have started. But the feeling is that the investments should happen in such a way to make it a reality early. Because the children of that state have to get educated. Earlier, certain institutions were open to everyone. That wealth has gone to Telangana. It’s a question of pace,” he said. He pointed out that Chandrababu Naidu has been requesting the Centre in this regard.
“The government of India has to help, you have to hand-hold. There were certain injustices done in certain ways. Nobody can put the clock back. What is expected? That the Centre will do hand-holding. You find that the per capita income is plummeting. Andhra was an agriculture state — basic economy. We have to help the states. The discussion is on. Probably, there is a feeling the discussion is going for far too long,” he said.
Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju
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