A day after his fast for the cause, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday took his fight for special status to the State to the Rashtrapati Bhawan as he along with TDP MPs and MLAs met President Ramnath Kovind and took up the issue with him.

The delegation marched from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented a memorandum to the President with 18 demands, including the Bifurcation Act promises and special status to the State.

“We met the President and apprised him of our demands. The Central Government has ignored the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation act promises. Modi government is passing the time without releasing grants to the state.  For the development of Hyderabad there has been a struggle for 60 years and today it stands as a world-class city. On seeing the injustice done to Andhra Pradesh many people went into depression and recently a physically challenged man Arjun Rao has committed suicide over the special status not being granted to the State,” Naidu said at a press conference.

Naidu said that through a memorandum he informed the President that the Central government has failed to fill the revenue deficit gap. He also complained to President that it was decided in the parliament to accord special category status to AP but the BJP Government has failed to fulfill the demand so far. The delegation complained to President over the neglect in fulfilment of state bifurcation assurances.

Bringing his battle for special status for his state to the national Capital, Naidu on Monday went on a daylong fast that became a rallying point for opposition unity for the second time in less than a month to take on the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Naidu, who is trying to unite opposition parties, has over the last three months held a number of meetings with opposition party leaders on forming an anti-BJP front. The TDP pulled out of the NDA government in March last year over its refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh.

He said that a possibility of pre poll alliance with opposition parties cannot be ruled out.

“Nothing is decided yet but possibility of a pre poll alliance with opposition parties cannot be ruled out,” Naidu said at Press conference. Naidu further said while entire nation extended solidarity for ‘dharma porata deeksha’, the YSR Congress failed to extend support.

Demanding that the Centre fulfil promises made during Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014, the TDP president has been alleging that Modi was not following ‘raj dharma’ by denying the state special status.