Narendra Modi hails Naidu for his steps in energy sector

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has complimented Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the latter's initiatives in the energy sector. The Prime Minister complimented Naidu during the meeting of the fourth governing council of NITI Aayog at Delhi on Sunday. Naidu's suggestion that NREGS be linked to agriculture found several takers among the Chief Ministers. They wanted a committee constituted for examining the proposal.

Chief Ministers of Bihar and Puducherry Nitish Kumar and V Narayanasamy respectively supported the demand of Naidu that AP should be given Special Category Status. Naidu voiced his protest against the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission which was asked to take 2011 census data as basis for deciding central devolutions. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee supported Naidu's demand for setting the anomalies in the Terms of Reference.

Naidu and the other Chief Ministers brought to the notice of the Prime Minister the sit-in being staged by Arvind Kejriwal at Raj Niwas in Delhi in protest against the ‘strike’ by IAS officers and wanted his intervention to resolve the impasse. During lunch break, Chief Ministers of North Eastern states consulted Naidu to elicit information about various initiatives that he had taken in AP.