Andhra Pradesh special status issue: YSR Congress gives notice for first no-confidence motion against Modi govt, TDP may extend support

In the backdrop of the Centre's refusal to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress today gave a notice for moving a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led NDA government.

The party's MP YV Subba Reddy gave the notice to the Lok Sabha secretariat for including the motion in tomorrow's list of business, his office said. 

Speaking on the floor of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in Amravati, TDP president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that his party may extend support to the no-confidence motion against Modi government.

“If necessary, we will support the no-confidence motion against Centre, whoever may place it,” Naidu said. 

The motion can be accepted only if it has the support of at least 50 members in the House. YSR Congress has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha. 

If accepted, it will be the first no-confidence motion moved against the Modi-government. 

YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy has written to leaders of various parties seeking their support for the motion. 

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In the letter, he has asserted that if the Centre remains reluctant to grant the special category status to the state then all MPs of his party will resign on April 6. 

With the BJP alone having 274 members in the 536-member Lok Sabha and enjoying support of allies having over 56 members, the no-confidence motion, if accepted, is certain to be defeated but has the potential to put the ruling party in a tight corner in a state like Andhra over the demand of special category status to the state. 

The TDP has withdrawn its ministers from the government after the Centre made it clear that it cannot grant the status to the state and the regional party, which is in power in the state, is now mulling to quit the NDA. 

Also Read: Jaitley's comparison of Andhra Pradesh with Bihar a factor behind TDP's exit: MP

Even if its 16 members support the no-confidence motion, the government will still have a big numerical advantage in the House. 

The YSR is also seeking to put the TDP, its rival in the state, on the defensive by moving a no-confidence motion. 

Whether it supports the motion or opposes it, the TDP faces the prospect of handing the YSR Congress a plank in the state in which Assembly polls are due to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections the next year. 

With Agency Inputs