Andhra Special Status row: YSRC to move no confidence motion; TDP may support move, walk out of NDA tomorrow

Bharatiya Janata Party will come under double fire on Friday. As the Andhra Pradesh special status row gathered more heat in Parliament on Thursday, the YSR Congress announced that it will bring in a Motion of No Confidence against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Plus, the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) is also expected to support the motion and the party may even sever ties with the NDA, sources told CNN-News18.  The news channel also reported that a decision on walking out of NDA could come on Friday after the party’s politburo meeting. [caption id=“attachment_3892443” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] According to  News18, party president Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to other parties to support them in the bid. In his letter to different political leaders YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy wrote, “If even after this no-confidence motion, central government is reluctant to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh, all our party MPs will tender resignation to their seats on 6 April.” Reddy, in his letter, recalled that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had given an assurance in the Rajya Sabha while participating in a debate on the bill bifurcating the state that the special category status will be granted to it. Party MP YV Subba Reddy on Thursday notified the Lok Sabha Secretary-General to move motion on No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers, and has requested that it be included in the list of business on Friday. For the Speaker to admit a Motion of No Confidence and seek a trust vote, the motion has to have a support of 54 MPs. If accepted, it will be the first no-confidence motion moved against the Modi-government. The YSR Congress Party has nine MPs in the House, whereas the TDP has 16 MPs. Congress may or may not choose to support the motion. But even if the motion is taken up, the BJP has a comfortable majority in the House and a trust vote would not mean anything politically. However, the fact the TDP, which is still an NDA ally, has chosen to support the motion means more trouble for the BJP, especially in Andhra Pradesh where regional parties are trying to put the blame squarely on Centre. Besides, the motion can hand over a political plank to Jagan Reddy in the state in which Assembly polls are due to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections next year. Speaking to News18, YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy said, “The Finance Bill was passed in Lok Sabha without any discussion. Now, it’s in Rajya Sabha and it will be passed there in the same way. It is likely the House will be adjourned sine-die. Therefore, we are moving the no-confidence on Friday itself.” TDP ministers had resigned from the BJP-led NDA government, a move which was replicated by BJP ministers in the state  on 8 March while putting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on notice period. The move had come after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  failed to produce a breakthrough in his meeting with chief minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. Jaitley later added the last straw by bluntly rejecting special status category to Andhra in public, but offering a similar economic package to the state. The BJP has been saying that it is not constitutionally possible for the Centre to use the tag of special status anymore but it can match the benefits by giving economical packages and they are willing to do that. The TDP, however, has argued that the “Centre has not done anything for us in past four years” and they are only asking “what was promised to them and whatever is their right.” Earlier too, TDP had said that it will move the no-confidence motion as a last resort against the NDA government if their demands are not met. We will continue our fight for justice to Andhra Pradesh. If that doesn’t happen, we will muster support from other parties and move a no-trust motion," the TDP president announced at a meeting of Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti in Vijayawada on 20 February. However, since Opposition YSRC has trounced TDP by resorting to move the motion first, the party may now consider completely severing ties with the NDA to avoid allegations that it is siding with the BJP for power.