Centre always willing to give special package to Andhra Pradesh, says Arun Jaitley

In the wake of the TDP's exit from the BJP-led NDA, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the Centre has been willing to give a special package equivalent to a Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.

"We have been waiting endlessly for a response from Andhra Pradesh to resolve the special package issue," Jaitley said.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) quit the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday morning over the Centre's refusal to grant SCS to Andhra Pradesh. The party politburo unanimously took the decision to end the alliance with the NDA during a tele-conference with party president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The TDP then moved a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha. Following it, the YSR Congress also moved a confidence motion.

The no-confidence notices were moved by TDP's Thota Narasimham and YSR Congress member Y V Subba Reddy. However, the motion notices were not taken up as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said there was no order in the House and adjourned the proceedings for the day amid vociferous protests over various issues.

Meanwhile, the union government led by Narendra Modi termed the TDP's decision to quit the NDA "inevitable". The BJP claimed that the TDP exit opened an opportunity for it to grow in the state.

BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said the TDP's decision to quit was inevitable after its "mischievous propaganda" against the Centre.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the country has full confidence in the prime minister as does the House. "The government has the numbers... We are ready to take up everything," he said.