Hyderabad sources have reported that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are eagerly awaiting the Union Budget to be presented by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on February 1. Meanwhile both state governments have high hopes of at least some of their long-pending issues being addressed by the Central government in this annual exercise.
Moreover if the speculations about the early elections come true, this will be the last full budget of the National Democratic Alliance government. Next year the NDA will present only a Vote on Account for 2019-20. Previously Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh’s CM N. Chandrababu Naidu have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and various Central ministers several times and requested financial aid and resolution of pending issues.
Further the Central government has resolved some
issues but many still remain, most crucially for both states, the implementation
of the financial package. Accordingly a financial package for AP has been
announced in lieu of special status. The TS government wants special status for
TS and a special financial package.
