New Delhi: The centre has announced more financial assistance for Andhra Pradesh to make up for the loss in revenue that the state has suffered from the bifurcation to create Telangana, but opposition parties have made clear that nothing less than "special category status" for the state will do.
Rejecting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's late Wednesday night announcement of a special financial package for the state, the Congress and YSR Congress today stalled proceedings in the state assembly as the monsoon session began, raising slogans of "special status is Andhra's right".
They accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party is a partner of the BJP both at the centre and in the state, of "compromising" on the state's interests. The YSR Congress, led by Jagan Reddy, has called for a bandh on Saturday. The Left parties have also supported the bandh.
Mr Jaitley said yesterday that the package, which includes full funding of a major irrigation project and tax concessions, will mean benefits for the state "equivalent" to special status.
The NDA government, he said, is attempting to deliver on the promise made by Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013, but cited constraints placed by the 14th Finance Commission in granting special category status - the provision ceased to exist once the finance commission's recommendation to devolve 42 per cent of the centre's taxes to the states was accepted last year.
Rejecting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's late Wednesday night announcement of a special financial package for the state, the Congress and YSR Congress today stalled proceedings in the state assembly as the monsoon session began, raising slogans of "special status is Andhra's right".
They accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party is a partner of the BJP both at the centre and in the state, of "compromising" on the state's interests. The YSR Congress, led by Jagan Reddy, has called for a bandh on Saturday. The Left parties have also supported the bandh.
Mr Jaitley said yesterday that the package, which includes full funding of a major irrigation project and tax concessions, will mean benefits for the state "equivalent" to special status.
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The NDA government, he said, is attempting to deliver on the promise made by Congress Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013, but cited constraints placed by the 14th Finance Commission in granting special category status - the provision ceased to exist once the finance commission's recommendation to devolve 42 per cent of the centre's taxes to the states was accepted last year.
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