New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday hit back at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu and said that their party's commitment to the people of Andhra Pradesh would remain solid with or without him.
"I am very pained to see our erstwhile partner entering into a blame game. BJP makes friends. We are not in the habit of ditching. We value friendship but more than that, we value the people of India," union minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Javadekar said that when it came to development funds, the Modi Government had been "magnanimous" with Andhra Pradesh, even occasionally incurring the wrath of other state governments.
"Other states questioned us - why are you doing so much for Andhra? But we defended our decision. Since the newly carved state did not have Hyderabad, we had to maintain a balance."
He added, "TDP may have gone away from us, but our commitment to Andhra Pradesh's people is still solid."
Javadekar even insisted that Naidu's political fortunes would have been in the doldrums had it not been for his alliance with the BJP. "If there was no BJP and Modi, TDP would not have won the number of seats they did. Those who understand Andhra politics know which way the wind was blowing."
When asked if the party was veering towards the YSR Congress, he said, "If someone says we are going towards YSRC, that is ridiculous."
In an exclusive interview with News 18, Naidu had alleged that the Prime Minister's Office was shielding "tainted" parties. Javadekar said the allegations were "frivolous" and that "nobody would believe" Naidu if he raised corruption allegations against the Prime Minister.
When asked how the BJP saw Naidu cozying up to opposition parties, including the Congress, party spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said, "Congress is responsible for the plight of the people of Andhra Pradesh. The way the division was done was to the detriment of the Andhra region. Congress has no credibility left in Andhra Pradesh and if Chandrababu Naidu wants to share the stage with them, he will be seen as a rank opportunist."
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