Is it wrong for Chandrababu Naidu to speak openly against the centre?

Nitin B | The News Minute | March 2, 2015 | 1:05 pm ISTUnhappy over the "raw deal" meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the union budget, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday decided to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek justice for his state reeling under the impact of bifurcation.Naidu, who is also president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, told reporters in Hyderabad that the budget dashed hopes of people who had reposed faith in the alliance."We had a lot of hopes on the Budget. The Finance Commission couldn't address the needs of the people of AP. The Budget has let us down. We are disappointed with this as the state needs haven't figured in the Budget." he said.But Naidu’s outburst has not gone down too well with the BJP.Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in response to the outburst by the chief minister held a press conference where he tried to defend the centre and said "I've asked the chief minister not to air his grievance publicly" and suggested that he resolve the issues by holding talks with Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Should Naidu have aired his grievances publicly? Does he not have the freedom to do so?"The CM spoke openly and i feel it completely right what he did. The centre is trying to suppress the injustice done to AP from the national media," a senior TDP leader who did not want to be quoted told The News Minute."What is done is done. We wanted people to know that we are not to blame, so we had to air our grievances out in the open." Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu a TDP MLA, told The News Minute."The state is already facing a huge financial crisis and needs funds for the capital. Though Mr Venkiah Naidu has a point, it is a public affair and should not be discussed behind closed doors" he adds.Stating that everybody in the state is disappointed with the budget, Chandrababu Naidu had said it was Modi's responsibility to ensure that Andhra Pradesh gets all the support and its state capital is developed at par with Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.Naidu reminded Modi that during the election campaign, they gave assurances to people and made promises."At an election meeting in Tirupati, Mr. Modi had promised that a world-class capital city would be developed which would be better than Delhi," Naidu was quoted as saying.The chief minister also said that he visited Delhi eight times and met the prime minister, the finance minister and others to explain to them the problems faced by his state and the assistance required to overcome them."I did not expect this," Naidu had said, while pointing out that the budget has nothing to offer to the state.Asked if he would withdraw support to the government, he retorted: "I am not going to play petty politics."The Budget has let down the people of AP. It is Centre's responsibility to provide us a level-playing field to address our needs. (1/2)— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) February 28, 2015People of AP have reposed their faith in TDP-BJP alliance. They feel disappointed. I'll work hard until level-playing field is created.(2/2)— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) February 28, 2015The state is also putting pressure on the centre for a special status to be granted to the state it has no major source of cash inflow while compared to the huge development projects ahead including the proposed capital and the Polavaram dam project."We are not looking for an argument. We are working for the development of the state and it is not possible without the centre's support. We hope that the Finance Minister and the PM can come to an understanding with the chief minister and resolve their differences." Krishnama Naidu adds.Chandrababu Naidu is an experienced politician who also understands that his differences with the BJP would be subject to a lot of criticism from opposition parties in both Telangana and Andhra and has to play his cards smartly.A result of which was an hour long meeting with Jana Sena founder and famous actor Pawan Kalyan where the two leaders had reportedly discussed the issue of non-implementation of promises made to the state during the elections.The 'power star' is a big opinion leader in the state with a cult like following and this meeting puts pressure on the NDA led centre to act in favour of the AP chief minister.It remains to be seen now as to how the meet between Naidu and Modi will turn out and if the cracks between the allies will mend or deepen.TweetFollow @thenewsminute