"My plea was special status but as it was not possible, I asked for a good package. Our government is committed to providing much more than the special status to AP," Venkaiah was quoted as saying at another news conference in Delhi on Thursday. More than anyone it was you who advocated (the special status) before," Ramakrishna said. Nothing will come to us if we are adamant on our stand about the special status." Chandrababu had visited Delhi at least 20 times in the past two years to try and persuade Modi and Jaitley to grant the special status.

Source: The Telegraph September 11, 2016 21:00 UTC