Naidu To Seek Special Status Of PM Again On May 17

After his foreign jaunt with family members, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu flew down to the State and held a meeting with his cabinet colleagues today.

Naidu has been given time to meet PM Narendra Modi on May 17 in New Delhi, primarily for a drought relief discussion, and discussed the agenda with his cabinet colleagues. Amid pressure from Opposition parties, Naidu is reportedly going to pitch again for Special Status for Andhra Pradesh in the meeting with Modi.

Despite the BJP leadership dismissing the possibility of Special Status, after facing severe criticism from the Congress and the YSR Congress, the TDP is in a face-saving mode, and Naidu is to make another effort for the tag.

Naidu is apparently all for having a good relationship with teh TDP's ally the BJP at the Centre, though he has been unhappy with it for some time due to not getting adequate support or funding for the State's schemes. Naidu himself has not been pressing strongly for Special Status as it would not resolve all the issues, and is instead seeking more funding for the capital city and other developmental schemes.

The Chief Minister will give a presentation on the bifurcation-related problems to Modi in the meeting on May 17, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu informed mediapersons. Naidu and he would be meeting the Prime Minister, and would also seek the Centre's help for immediate drought relief, he said.

"We are preparing a detailed report after a discussion with officials, on the drought and bifurcation issues, on May 16," Yanamala stated.