Will remain in NDA for AP's sake: Naidu

VIJAYAWADA: For the development of Andhra Pradesh and capital Amaravati, the TDP will remain in the NDA, said chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Replying to questions at a press conference here on Tuesday night, where he was asked about the Centre's reluctance to grant special category status for AP as was made clear by finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha last week, Naidu said: "After all, I need the Centre's cooperation in getting clearances for Amaravati as well as for various other projects that are necessary for the development of the state as a whole."
The CM said he has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 4 to clear the air of ambiguity currently prevailing over the special category status issue.He said Jaitley spoke to him on Tuesday evening in the light of protests by TDP MPs in Parliament earlier in the day and was assured by him that the Centre was committed to fulfilling all promises made during bifurcation of AP.
When asked whether he was satisfied with Jaitley's assurance, Naidu said: "You know me well. I keep pursuing until I get the best from the Centre," he told the media. The CM, however, evaded a direct reply to a question as to whether his party MPs will suspend the protests in Parliament following the FM's latest assurance. "I visited Delhi 23 times with a mission to get all the bifurcation-related promises fulfilled. I am ready to make any number of trips to beseech the Centre to aid in the development of the state," he said.
Naidu is already scheduled to visit Delhi on Thursday to formally invite the President, the vice-president, the Lok Sabha speaker, the Chief Justice of India and other dignitaries for the Krishna Pushkarams. "I have already extended a personal invitation to the Prime Minister. But I am trying to get an audience with him again to discuss the SCS issue," the CM said.
Remaining soft on the BJP, Naidu assailed the opposition parties for resorting to a state-wide bandh on the SCS issue on Tuesday.
"The YSR Congress, Left parties and the Congress are trying to fish in troubled waters as the bandh caused a revenue loss for the state. The APSRTC could not operate more than 2,500 buses on account of the bandh and suffered a revenue loss of Rs 4 crore in a single day. Besides, five buses were damaged. It is the joint responsibility of the TDP and the BJP to realise all the electoral promises, including the special category status and assistance for the Polavaram project that were made by the alliance partners," he said.