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We are not against poor states: Naidu

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

The chief ministers' conclave convened by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu got under way on Monday, with nine state governments participating.

Apart from Naidu, chief ministers who attended the conclave were Parkash Singh Badal of Punjab, Om Prakash Chautala of Haryana, Francisco Sardinha of Goa, Nipa Mache Singh of Manipur, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of Assam and E K Nayanar of Kerala.

Chhagan Bhujbal, deputy chief minister of of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu's Law Minister Alladi Aruna represented their governments.

Naidu, who sought to brush off misgivings about the conference, said in his opening remarks, "We are not against poor states, but we would like equitable distribution of resources."

The chief ministers are expected to meet Eleventh Finance Commission chairman, Prof A M Khusro at 16:00 hours IST on Monday, followed by a meeting with Union Finance Minister Yeshwant Sinha. They may also meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee later in the day.

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