AP, Telangana CMs to meet PM Modi to set ball rolling with Centre

It's going to be a politically significant week for the twin Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as its respective Chief Ministers, K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, are set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss state-related issues. While KCR will meet the Prime Minister on Friday, Jagan will meet Modi a day later. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of recent political differences between the two states and the Centre.

KCR's patchy relations with Modi

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, is meeting the Prime Minister for the first time after Modi returned to power in May. He had last met Modi on December 26, 2018, weeks after he was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Telangana for the second consecutive term. It was during this meet that KCR submitted a humongous list of demands to the Prime Minister, including special assistance for his flagship pet project, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. Post this meeting, KCR never got a chance to meet Modi. In the run-up to the general elections, KCR kept attacking Modi and the BJP, while harbouring his intentions of forming a federal front at the Centre. The plan was however put on the backburner after the thumping victory of the BJP in the elections.

After the elections too, KCR was critical of Prime Minister Modi, calling him a fascist leader and said that he would continue to fight the BJP and maintain a constitutional relationship with the Centre. In fact, when KCR inaugurated the Kaleshwaram project in June 2019, he didn't invite the Prime Minister and said that there was no such rule that the PM should be invited to every function. Subsequently, KCR made a couple of attempts to meet the Prime Minister but didn't get an appointment. He even skipped the Niti Aayog meeting and another meeting on 'One Nation One Poll' in June.

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Jagan's run-ins with Centre

If the Telangana CM had a blow hot-blow cold relationship with the Centre, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart too hasn't yet enjoyed a smooth ride with the NDA government's second term. The Centre had openly criticised the decisions of the Jagan government on many issues including review of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and reverse tendering of Polavaram irrigation project. Recently, Union Power Minister RK Singh wrote a couple of letters to Jagan over his government's decision to review PPAs. He said this would affect investor credibility and suggested the state to not disturb the existing PPAs. However, the state government feels that there was corruption involved in PPAs signed during Chandrababu Naidu's rule and that agreements were entered into with high tariffs. The AP government feels that renewing PPAs will save public money and the results will be there for everyone to see soon.

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Similarly, for the Polavaram irrigation project, as soon as the YSRCP government came to power, it terminated the contract of Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd (NECL) from the ongoing works. The state government also went ahead for reverse tenders and finalised the financial bid to a new company. The state government claimed it can save Rs 780 crore through reverse tendering. However, the Polavaram Project Authority, appointed by the Centre, opposed the reverse tendering in the project. The Central Water Commission too was also not willing to disturb the Polavaram contracts. A case is currently pending on this proposal with the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

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TRS, YSRCP support to Centre

Not every event in recent history suggests that the relationship of twin Telugu states with the Centre are strained. After the NDA government came to power, both the TRS and the YSRCP, directly or indirectly, supported the passage of crucial bills in the Parliament such as special status to Jammu & Kashmir, the amendment to RTI Act and the Triple Talaq Bill. The Prime Minister too recently visited Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in June and promised all support to develop the state. It is this goodwill, which KCR and Jagan will leverage to press for grants to the states.

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