Andhra special status row:Two TDP ministers resign from Modi govt

The two Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ministers in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government resigned on Thursday.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and minister of state for science YS Chowdary's resignations, to protest the denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh, came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi spoke to Naidu on the phone.

Speaking to ANI, AP Excise Minister KS Jawahar said,''We did not get the special category status, that is why our ministers resigned. Our CM went to Delhi 29 times, argued & begged for the state, but until now we haven't received any interest in the matter. The time is over, we are ready to battle.''

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu amid political tension between BJP and TDP over granting special status to the state.

According to TDP Sources, ''AP CM Naidu explained to the Modi about reasons leading to central ministers' resignation and TDP withdrawing from Union Government.

Earlier in the day, ANI reported that BJP ministers in the Andhra Pradesh government, Dr Kamineni Srinivas and Pydikondala Manikyala Rao, resigned from the state cabinet.

Meanwhile, the two TDP ministers in the Union Cabinet met PM Narendra Modi at 6 PM today. They were directed yesterday by Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu to submit their resignations.

The BJP on Thursday pulled two of its ministers out of the Andhra Pradesh government which is led by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in the backdrop of increasing hostilities between the parties over special category status to the state.

On Wednesday, Naidu said, "We have taken the decision to pull out two TDP ministers, civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Union minister of science and technology Srujana Chowdary, from the Union cabinet as all our efforts to get special category status failed. It was a last resort decision."

Naidu's remarks came hours after Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Centre could not accommodate TDP's demands for "special category" status or tax relief for the state.

The TDP has 16 members in the Lok Sabha and four in the Rajya Sabha.

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