Strongly opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Andhra Pradesh on January 6, AP Chief Minister and former ally of the BJP, N Chandrababu Naidu, has urged people to boycott his visit for meting out “injustice” to the state.
Addressing the gathering at Dharma Poratta Dheeksha in Anantapur on Wednesday, he said, “With what face is he (Modi) coming to visit our state? Is he visiting the state to see whether we are dead or alive? Would you welcome his visit?,” he asked the people present in the meeting. The CM said that he doesn’t have any objection if the prime minister lives up to his promise of according Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. “Let him do justice and implement the law, then we will welcome him without any objection. But if you are visiting to mock us, how can we tolerate that?”
The CM said that the best way to teach Narendra Modi a befitting lesson would be to boycot his visit. Besides addressing the gathering, he also had a teleconference with his party MLAs and MPs, and instructed them to organise a protest against the BJP on January 1.
Naidu also slammed both YSRCP, the Opposition party, for allegedly having ties with the BJP, and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan for being silent against the 'injustice' meted out by the BJP. He also said that the BJP is attacking its leaders who are fighting against the BJP for the state's cause, by raiding them using the Income Tax authorities and other agencies.
Accusing the Centre of denying Kadapa steel plant, as part of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, Naidu said that the state itself would construct the steel plant without any assistance from the BJP-led Centre.
Naidu said, “Narendra Modi thinks that if he denies all assistance to the state, the development in the state would stop, and the chief minister has to obey all his diktats. Hence, he is putting pressure on all corners and resorting to blackmail politics.”
Both the BJP and TDP were in alliance with the NDA. However, the TDP later walked out of the coalition earlier this March, after the Centre denied SCS to the state.