Indian president accepts resignation of two ministers

NEW DELHI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignation of two cabinet ministers here on Friday.

The two ministers, belonging to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), submitted their requests on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

The TDP is a state-level party in southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and currently the main ruling party in the state. The TDP and the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) are alliance partners both in the Modi government and Andhra Pradesh government.

The two ministers resigned amid the ongoing tussle between the TDP and the BJP over the special status for Andhra Pradesh, out of which a new state Telangana was carved out in 2014.

TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu alleged that he had been continuously trying to seek appointment with Modi to discuss his long pending demand of special status for his state, but Modi didn't oblige.

Naidu clarified that his party will continue to be a partner in the BJP-led ruling alliance at the Centre.

Following the division of the two states nearly four years back, the Andhra Pradesh government had been demanding special status for the state. Special status means the state will benefit financially in the form of concessions and grants.

Relations between the main ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the TDP further soured after the announcement of the Union Budget 2018-19 last month.

While the TDP has been alleging that the Centre neglected the state in the Union Budget, the BJP rejected the charges. Enditem