Politics is all about combinations and equations. The combination of AP CM Chandrababu Naidu and PM Narendra Modi came into light again as the successor state of Andhra Pradesh is burning with the issue of Special Status. With Centre almost ruling out the Special Status to AP and assuring of “something” (some financial aid), its repercussions are wide, huge. Naturally, the union government is under fire and facing the public heat.
Close on the heels of self immolation and death of one Muni Koti demanding Centre for the Special Status to AP, political analysts predict that the demand is going to become bigger, louder and subsequently the movement is expected to rise further.
Blame it on Narendra Modi and his cabinet for not really looking into the woes of AP. Despite admitting that AP is going through severe financial crunch after losing Hyderabad (major revenue generator) to Telangana, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and government hasn’t clarified on the amount of financial aid that Centre is going to give and when. The two pertinent questions – How Much, When – haven’t been answered yet resulting in the hampering of AP’s growth by several years.
However, things were totally different during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s reign. Vajpayee’s association with the then CM Chandrababu resulted in flourishing of AP and Naidu managed to use IT boom to the hilt which placed Hyderabad on the global map. Roads, infrastructure, railways saw a tremendous growth and Vajpayee-Naidu combo worked big for AP.
Cut to the present, Narendra Modi hardly helping Naidu and his government. In his one-and-a-half-year rule, the only once he visited AP was when Hudhud cyclone struck Vizag. Even the AP CM’s association with Modi doesn’t seem to yield any benefits to the state. This gross negligence, blatant U-turn by NDA is going to have long-lasting effect.