Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for the third time in six months. Reddy also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
During the meeting with Amit Shah, CM Jagan Reddy urged the release of pending funds for Andhra Pradesh. Reddy also discussed partition promises, financial support to Andhra Pradesh and other pending issues.
The Andhra CM also sought assistance to complete the construction of the Polavaram project, which is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the Eluru district.
The meeting comes days after Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu held talks with Amit Shah and Nadda. However, there has been no official word or outcome of the meeting.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s meeting with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah holds significance as BJP would need the support of fence sitter parties like YSRCP in passing important legislations in Rajya Sabha in the upcoming Parliament Monsoon session.
Last month, Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda criticised the Andhra government over alleged corruption at separate public meetings in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati respectively. Many speculated that it was the BJP’s first step towards forming an alliance with the TDP.
However, YSRCP leaders dismissed these speculations and stated that their relationship with the BJP would continue to be “harmonious”.
According to Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, an advisor to the state government, the YSRCP has never been a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or allied with the BJP. “YSRCP maintains a cordial relationship with the central government and will continue to press for the resolution of pending issues,” Sajjala Reddy had said.
Earlier, CM Jagan Reddy emphasised that the YSRCP was an independent party and does not rely on any other party, including the BJP, for an electoral alliance.
