Chandrababu Naidu prepares party for no-confidence vote

Vijayawada: After its notice on a No-Confidence Motion against the National Democratic Alliance government was admitted in the Lok Sabha, the Telugu Desam issued a three-line whip ordering members to be present in the House on both Thursday and Friday.

“All TD members in the Lok Sabha are hereby informed that no-confidence motion will be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Friday. All members of TD in the Lok Sabha are therefore requested to be present in the House throughout two days from Thursday to Friday and support the motion,” stated K Narayana Rao, Chief Whip of the TD (Lok Sabha).

TD chief Chandrababau Naidu has taken great care to prepare party MPs, leaders and cadres for the war with the Centre. He has directed top bureaucrats in the state to support the MPs with requisite information.

In a meeting with senior officers at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Mr Naidu told the chief secretary, finance secretary and CMO officials to get actual details of what the Centre has said on its support to AP.

“We have to be very careful. The Centre may change the actual facts and hence you have to appraise our MPs of all relevant documents and statistics,” the CM told the officials.

MPs have already been sent information on the fiscal deficit, Dugarajapatnam port, Visakha railway zone and other important issues.

The TD MPs were advised by the Chief Minister to attack the Centre in the House, in case there is a discussion on how and why AP accepted the special package.

The bureaucrats were told to prepare counters to the same in order to support the MPs during their arguments in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Chief Minister’s letters to opposition parties and also the efforts of the MPs in the last couple of days has yielded good results.

The admission of the TD’s notice of no-confidence has become a point of discussion among non-BJP parties, and the YSR Congress’ protest in Parliament’s premises didn’t receive much response when compared to the TD’s efforts.

The TD MPs and senior leaders have been advised by Mr Rao to be in touch with the anti-Modi group in the BJP so that they get to hear the arguments on the bifurcation issue and special status.