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India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh came to a halt Thursday, following a shut down called by opposition parties in protest against the central government's annual Budget.
Most of the busy roads in large parts of the state almost wore a deserted look as schools, colleges and offices have been shut and bus services suspended across Andhra Pradesh.
Though the state's ruling Telegu Desam Party (TDP), which is an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has not joined the opposition shutdown, it is equally upset with the central government for the "injustice" meted out to Andhra Pradesh in Budget.
While opposition parties staged sporadic protests at major intersections of various roads across the state, the TDP also brought out rallies in solidarity with its lawmakers "fighting in Parliament to secure the state's rights."
"People and intellectuals irrespective of political affiliations should stand in solidarity with our parliamentarians, who have been fighting in Parliament for the state's rights," state TDP president and Energy Minister Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao told the media.
In fact, both the ruling and opposition parties of Andhra Pradesh have accused the central government of betraying the people of the state.
They have alleged that the central government "completely ignored Andhra Pradesh" as there was no mention of any allocations for the construction of its new capital, Amaravati, or any other major project such as a promised railway zone at port city of Visakhapatnam, in Budget.
"Andhra Pradesh is building a new capital after Telangana was carved out of the southern state in 2014. The state's capital Hyderabad is jointly being shared by Telangana. But after a decade, Hyderabad will belong to Telanaga," said H.K. Reddy, a local Congress leader.
"So, Andhra Pradesh is building a new capital, Amaravati. But the central government has not allocated any funds for the city's development, despite the state's ruling TDP being a part of India's ruling National Democratic Alliance led by BJP. This is unacceptable," he added.
Earlier this week, rumours were doing the rounds in political circles that the TDP could pull out of the BJP-led ruling alliance over the Budget. However, TDP chief and state's Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu later asked his party members of parliament only to raise the issue in Parliament.
Experts said the general elections are due early next year and BJP's southern ally could well become a thaw if the issue is not settled soon. Already, BJP's ties with its ally in western state of Maharastra, the Shiv Sena, is strained.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
