Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Polit Bureau member Nakka Ananda Babu has alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is exploring all options to avoid implementation of the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict on the three capitals.
It was in furtherance of this agenda that Ministers such as Botcha Satyanarayana and Dharmana Prasada Rao unleashed a malicious propaganda against the capital region farmers’ Amaravati to Arasavalli Maha Padayatra, Mr. Ananda Babu alleged while addressing the media at the party central office near Mangalagiri on Saturday.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had endorsed the idea of developing a greenfield capital city in Amaravati when he was in the Opposition, but went on to change his stand later as per his convenience, due to which the State was suffering an irreparable loss, he alleged.
Court verdict
Mr. Anand Babu said despite the court verdict that the State had no legislative competence to split or shift the capital, the Chief Minister was stubborn in his pursuit of decentralisation to the detriment of thousands of farmers who had parted with their arable lands for the development of Amaravati.
The moving of a Constitution Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha by YSRCP member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy for “provision of explicit legislative competence to the State Legislatures to establish one or more capitals within their territories” proved that the State cannot decide on the issue of capital city.
The State government had recently filed an Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the impugned judgment of the High Court.
People’s view
Mr. Ananda Babu said that not less than 52% of the people would support Amaravati as the capital if opinions were gathered from Srikakulam to Chittoor, but the government was least bothered about knowing the public mood.
The TDP leader claimed that former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had transformed Visakhapatnam (now proposed to be the executive capital) into a city that could compete with Tier-I cities. In contrast, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s contribution to the development of the Port City was nil, he added.
Visakhapatnam was bound to develop in the normal course even if it was not made the capital. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should heed the wise counsel at least now, lest he should face the consequences that would be far-reaching, Mr. Ananda Babu said.
