The ruling Telugu Desam Party leaders are facing a hell of a time to defend why Rs. 2 crore public money is being spent on CM Chandrababu Naidu’s Delhi deeksha on Monday. The opposition parties are making it a big issue asking whether it is wise to spend such huge amount out of an already ailing AP economy. The AP government has booked special trains from Anantapur and Srikakulam to transport activists to take part in CM deeksha.

The AP finance department has already released the money to meet the expenditure on CM deeksha. The officials justify this saying that Naidu is doing this protest in his official capacity as the chief minister representing all the citizens of AP state. It is not like Naidu only standing for his TDP party members alone. The TDP leaders assert that the CM deeksha is a part of the people’s agitation for special status and for so many other promises that are made in the AP Reorganisation Act.

Unfortunately, the special status issue is projected more as a political plank rather than a popular movement. In the first four years, the TDP government did not press hard for status as such a step would have led to differences with BJP leading to total loss to AP. But now CM Naidu is going all out in his demand for justice to AP as it puts pressure on BJP while bringing mileage to TDP ahead of election.

G.Ravikiran