Arun Jaitley : contours of help will emerge in two days

Minister’s assurances fail to convince TDP, YSRCP MPs

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday assured agitating members from Andhra Pradesh that the Centre was looking into all issues concerning the State and some decision on special package and revenue deficit would be worked out in the next couple of days.

There was high drama in the Lok Sabha as soon as Mr. Jaitley stood up to reply to the Budget discussion.

TDP members, who were already in the Well, turned towards Mr. Jaitley and urged him to consider their demands.

Mr. Jaitley asked them to allow him begin is speech in which he would also refer to the State. Union Ministers Ananth Kumar and D. V. Sadananda Gowda too tried to convince the TDP members.

Speaker’s warning

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan warned the TDP members against showing their back to the Chair. It took TDP leader Thota Narasimham several minutes to convince his colleagues to allow Mr. Jaitley to speak.

When Mr. Jaitley spoke on A.P., the TDP members stood close to him, prompting Union Minister Uma Bharti to shield her Cabinet colleague from any possible disruption.

Mr. Jaitley said many of the promises made at the time of bifurcation of the State were being fulfilled, but his assurance failed to placate members of the TDP and the YSRCP who protested by displaying placards and shouting slogans in the Well of the House.

When A.P. was bifurcated, a package was promised to the people of the State in the Reorganisation Act.

“Now the package involved several aspects, many of which have been implemented. Some of them are in progress. We have given so far funds as promised for a large number of institutions which are being created because most of the institutions went to Telangana,” he said.

Now there are two areas which are being worked out. The first was amount in lieu of special package. Now the State had wanted the money to come by way of externally-aided projects.

On January 3, the Chief Minister of A.P. wrote to me saying that this should be given through Nabard,” he said.

Arrangement had been worked out and the officials after confirmation from the State have to inform the Expenditure Department about the acceptability, he said.

Revenue deficit

As far as revenue deficit is concerned, he said, there was another proposal which was being made.

On proposals pertaining the Railway and Petroleum Ministries, he said: “We are already in discussion with various ministries, our friends from A.P. are also in discussion and we are trying to find out a solution.”

The Centre had made some payments for backward districts’ development and for the Polavaram project through Nabard and added ?4,500 crore had already been paid.