Alliance is on, says TDP on reports of rift with BJP

TDPâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088leader Y Satyanarayana Chowdary briefed the media about a meeting convened by CMâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Chandrababu Naidu, seen here with PMâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Narendra Modi. File pic

The TDP yesterday said its alliance with the BJP in Andhra Pradesh and the Centre was very much alive, following speculation that the party was disgruntled over the "raw deal" that the state got in the Union Budget. TDP leader and Union minister Y Satyanarayana Chowdary briefed the media yesterday afternoon about deliberations at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on the Union Budget.

"As and when it is required, the chief minister and party chief will take the decision appropriately. As of today it (the alliance) is just going on. We never said (about snapping ties)...it's all speculation," he said here. "Our state is in a disadvantageous position due to bifurcation (of united Andhra Pradesh). People are dissatisfied because there is no specific mention of state issues in the Union Budget. All this was discussed," Chowdary said.

The meeting was attended by party MPs, a few state ministers, senior TDP leaders and senior bureaucrats. "We have already taken up the issues with the Union Finance Minister, Railway Minister (on setting up a railway zone in Visakhapatnam). Definitely, in the next 2-3 days we are hopeful everything will be resolved," he added. Chowdary added that the TDP would raise the state's demands, if required, in Parliament.

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