Parliament Session: TDP’s Devarayalu seeks Centre’s assistance for Andhra Pradesh; seeks funds for building Amaravati

New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu sought assistance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre of assisting Andhra Pradesh in “redevelopment and reconstruction.”

He,, during his address in the Lok Sabha, also urged the concerned ministries to help Andhra Pradesh in seeking debt relief and assistance for the Polavaram project.

The TDP MP also heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and said the TDP will support NDA in its developmental endeavour throughout the next five years.

Addressing the Lok Sabha on Monday, Devarayalu said, “As the election process is completed, I would request the Prime Minster and honourable ministers to extend a helping hand for reconstruction and rebuilding of Andhra Pradesh…it is a very strong word because we are faced by two issues.”

He said the two major issues faced by the state are: Revenue deficit and high debt burden.

“The first issue being…quota, the revenue deficit we are facing for the last 10 years…we are struggling. We request the Finance Ministry to actually release the revenue deficit, the gap that is supposed to be released 8-10 years back,” the TDP MP said.

“The second problem is the debt that we are facing to the tune of Rs 13.5 lakh crore. If the debt is taken for infrastructure, no problem. But the problem in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the last 5 years, the deb is taken…no new infrastructure has been added,” he added.

He also sought the assistance of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry for the Polavaram Project and Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry for the building of the state’s capital in Amaravati.

“We want the Jal Shakti Ministry to look at the national project, Polavaram Project, that is lying in the limbo for the last 5 years, no progress has been made. I request Jal Shakti Ministry to send a new team to assess situation on ground. We want it to be expedited, because this is a project that can give irrigation water to 4.3 hectare in the state, 28.5 lakh household and also generate 965 megawatt of electricity,” Devarayalu said.

“Also, we want Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry to look at our capital Amaravati. 33 acre of land has been given by the farmers free of the cost…expecting the capital to be built. Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated 10 years back, but we are still running the state without a capital,” he added.

The TDP MP also lauded the NDA government’s performance in the last 10 years and said the country made huge strides in economy and infrastructure. He also pointed some crucial legislations passed in the Parliament.

Devarayalu, further affirmed that NDA government will not stop at this and will work for achieving further bigger targets.

“We have passed some important legislations in the last 10 years. We passed GST, which was much needed as we had a very cumbersome tax process across the states.

We have brought legislation banning Triple Talaq, and Women’s Reservation Bill. We have brought three criminal laws and abrogated Article 370. But NDA will not sit upon this and will set new targets,” the TDP leader said.

“TDP, as an NDA partner, we support you through this endeavour all through next five years. Andhra Pradesh wants to work with you. Andhra Pradesh has shown this in the recent assembly elections also. Out of 175 seats we contested, NDA won 164 seats. In 25 parliamentary seats, NDA won 21. More than 90 per cent success rate and over 56 per cent vote share,” he added.

The TDP-BJP-Janasena Party alliance contested the recent polls together and registered a landslide victory in the assembly as well as the parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh.

The alliance won a landslide 164 seats, with TDP winning 135 and Janasena Party and BJP winning 21 and eight respectively. In the Lok Sabha as well, the alliance won 21 out of 25 seats.

The third successive NDA government was sworn in last month under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. NDA won 293 seats with BJP winning 240 seats on its own. The Opposition INDIA bloc won 234 seats.