Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao created a commotion in the Rajya Sabha on Friday after he protested in the Well of the House, against the injustice done to the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget.
Holding a placard that read ‘Help Andhra Pradesh’, Rao created a ruckus, following which Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien threatened to penalise the Congress leader
Kurien even ordered Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad to ask him to return to his seat, reportedly asking at one stage, “What is wrong with him? Has he gone mad?”
Speaking to reporters later, Rao said that he was forced to protest due to the lack of budgetary allocations to Andhra Pradesh.
He also pointed out that Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu had argued for a special status to Andhra, when they were in the opposition during the time of the state's bifurcation.
In 2016, the Congress MP raised the special status issue through a Private Member's Bill in Rajya Sabha and said that the BJP betrayed the people of AP by going back on the promise of granting special status.
Meanwhile, the ruling TDP has also expressed its unhappiness with BJP-led NDA government for the "raw deal" meted out to the state in the Union Budget 2018-19.
The state had demanded a railway zone in Visakhapatnam, release of funds for building the state’s new capital Amaravati, funds for the Kadapa steel plant, and a railway division for the stretch between Vijayawada and Guntakal.
However, snubbing all the demands put forth by the state, the Centre allocated Rs 108 Crore for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Rs 32 crore for the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (or petroleum university), Rs 10 crore for a Central University, Rs 10 crore for a Tribal University, Rs 54 Cr for NIT, Rs 50 Cr for IIT Tirupati and a few other minor educational allocations.