Vijayawada: Normal life was paralysed across Andhra Pradesh on Friday due to a day-long shutdown called over demands for a Special Category Status (SCS) to the state.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Congress, Left parties, and mass organisations backed the shutdown called by Pratyeka Hoda Sadhana Samithi (PHSS), which is fighting for special status to the state. Students and workers groups also have extended support.

PHSS chairman Chalasani Srinivas said on the day when the Union Budget was being presented in the Parliament, the shutdown was called to draw the nation's attention towards the plight of Andhra Pradesh due to the Centre not fulfilling the promise to accord SCS.

Buses of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) went off the roads, while shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed.

Srinivas along with the state Congress chief Raghuveera Reddy and leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) took part in a protest outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Bus Stand in Vijayawada.

The Left parties and student groups staged a protest in Visakhapatnam. Marches were also held in Guntur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Kurnool, Anantapur and other towns.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Cabinet colleagues and TDP legislators will attend the Assembly session wearing black badges.

The Government Employees Association has also appealed to the employees to wear black badges while attending their duties. Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners' Association, management of private schools and colleges were also extending support to the shutdown.

Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced in Parliament that residual state of Andhra Pradesh would be accorded the SCS.

TDP pulled out of BJP-led NDA government at the Centre last year after the latter ruled out the special status.

Naidu, who has accused the Narendra Modi government of going back on commitments made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, will be staging a protest in New Delhi on February 11.