BJP State president Somu Veerraju reiterated that the Central government recognised Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and even made a statement to that effect in the Parliament.
Both the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress governments failed in developing Amaravati as the capital city whereas the Centre extended financial assistance for the capital project on a large-scale with Amaravati as the pivotal point.
Also read | Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh as on date, Union government
Addressing a press conference at Anantapur on May 24, Mr. Veerraju said the Amaravati farmers’ struggle was fully justified as the State government deceived them by proposing to shift the capital to Visakhapatnam.
On its part, the BJP was still considering Amaravati as the capital and was committed to its development.
He said the Central government sanctioned three flyovers in Vijayawada, got the All India Institute of Medical Sciences established at Mangalagiri, improved rail connectivity and did many other things in Vijayawada-Guntur region because it viewed Amaravati as the capital.
The Centre funded many projects in A.P. but the funds were apparently misused by the State government. It gave ₹350 crore for the construction of a flyover in Anantapur.
Mr. Veerraju demanded that the State government should release a white paper on the schemes implemented by it for the welfare of Backward Classes (BCs).
He observed that the appeasement of minorities was causing injustice to the BCs, and questioned the reasons for not conducting caste census in the State.