LIVE TV
India
Recommended Stories
Bhubaneswar: BJD’s Parliamentary Party leader Bhartruhari Mahtab on Thursday said that Odisha will intensify its demand if the Centre grants special category state status to Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to OTV, the Cuttack MP said, " Odisha has been demanding for special category state status since long. However, if the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh gets the status, we will make our demand more vocal."
"The demand has not been pressed by Odisha for sometime due to the 14th Finance Commission. However, granting the status to one state and neglecting another is not fair. Any bias of the Central government in this matter will not be tolerated," he added.
Mahtab's response came after ruling TDP of Andhra Pradesh snapped ties with the NDA as its demand of a special category state status was rejected.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had recently reiterated the demand during a meeting with NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar at the Secretariat in Bhubaneswar.
