Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu ends his hunger strike

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu began his day long fast on Friday in Amaravati on the occasion of his birthday to protest the Centre's non-cooperation with the state.
Stay tuned for the latest updates:
* Chandrababu Naidu has ended his fast. Two young girls gave him lime water.
* Naidu says he never expected that he would have to do a fast on his birthday.
* Naidu asks national media to cover news related to Andhra Pradesh
* He asks center when you are spending Rs 2500 crore for Sardar Patel statue, why don't they support AP capital.
* State ministers Kala Venkat Rao, D Umamaheswara Rao, Nara Lokesh, Kollu Ravindra, MPs and state legislators and leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) joined the CM in the fast at the massive programme organised by the state government.
* Setting aside doctors' advice for 15-day bed rest, Assembly Speaker Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao left hospital to sit on hunger strike. Dr Kodela is suffering from fever for the past several days. He also received minor injuries during the cycle rally. Kodela shifted the fast camp to Narasaraopet from Sattenapalle due to bad health.
Assembly Speaker Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao
* Film director Tammareddy expresses solidarity with Chandrababu, asks people to support him.
* Naidu garlanded statues of Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule and NT Rama Rao before reaching the stadium.
* Naidu's hunger strike at the Indira Gandhi Stadium will continue till 7pm to pressurise the Centre to grant the Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.
* TDP leaders say this is the first time in the country's history that chief minister of a state is observing fast on his birthday.
* The TDP chief was blessed by Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious leaders before he began the fast.
* The chief minister began his fasting after paying tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar and NTR.
* Several ministers and party MLAs also sit on fast along with the chief minister.
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* Naidu said the TDP will play a crucial role at the Centre in the coming days.
* The Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Centre have been at the loggerheads ever since the announcement of 2018-19 Union Budget.
* Employee associations and few other organizations fighting for special category status are also present in the stadium.
* CM Naidu' fast began at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium filled with TDP rank and file in Amaravati.


Key facts about Special Category Status (SCS)
The Special Category Status was first accorded in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list -- Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and, finally, in 2010, Uttarakhand.
The Centre pays 90 per cent of the funds required in a centrally-sponsored scheme to SCS category states as against 60 per cent in case of normal category states, while the remaining funds are provided by the state governments.