Chandrababu Naidu is bending backwards to get back into the good books of the BJP. In an uncharacteristic move, the Telugu Desam chief wrote to Union Home minister Amit Shah to thank him for correcting the India map to include Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh. He also acknowledged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in this regard.
In the first India map that was published earlier this month, Amaravati was omitted, creating a furore in Andhra Pradesh.
It is not just another letter because Naidu is trying different things at the same time. In February this year, Naidu had torn into Modi for not helping his government with the construction of Amaravati.
“Modi had promised to build Amaravati that would be even better than the national capital. How do we build such a capital without money?” said Naidu, accusing the Centre of robbing the resources of Andhra Pradesh.
Today the same Naidu is thanking Modi for just including Amaravati in the map. It is strange that Naidu is happy with this because in reality, there is nothing happening on the Amaravati project because Jaganmohan Reddy has put all the grandiose Amaravati plans on the backburner.
In the same letter, Naidu also points out that the foundation stone for Amaravati was laid by the PM in October 2015. It is not a off-the-cuff comment. Naidu is in fact, trying to co-opt Modi and make him believe Amaravati is as much his baby as Naidu’s and that he should be concerned with the efforts to cut it to size.
Three, Naidu is trying to claim the entire credit for the correction in the map. Both TDP MP Jaydev Galla and YSRCP MP Mithun Reddy had raised this issue in Lok Sabha.
Four, of course, is Naidu’s desperate attempt to apply for admission to the NDA. He had quit the ruling coalition in a huff in 2018 and left no stone unturned to join hands with anti-BJP parties to upset Modi’s applecart. His political future hinges on getting a foot in the door in Delhi in order to neutralise Jagan’s aggression in decimating the TDP in Andhra Pradesh.
Categories: Andhra Pradesh, Political Pickle
