Strongly defending his decision to shift the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday exuded confidence that the capital city would be able to compete with Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai in a decade.
YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy categorically said on Wednesday that Visakhapatnam is the best bet for development as an administrative capital at a far lesser cost than Amaravati.
All these years, the Narendra Modi government has been refusing to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh on the pretext that the 14th finance commission had not recommended the same since it did not distinguish between normal states and those with special category status.
The agitation by farmers of Amaravati has entered 50th day on Wednesday.
TDP chief, Leader of Opposition in Assembly and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is now asking for referendum on Amaravati.
YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday reiterated that there is no point in spending thousands of crores on Amaravati alone that would benefit none and generate any employment for anyone.
Even as the Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Progressive Democratic Front suggested the names of their respective party members in the state legislative council for constituting the select committee to study the two bills related to the state capital, the YSR Congress party refused to be part of the exercise.
Even as the TDP is trying to move earth and heaven over Amaravati issue, projecting it as global issue, the Central government gave a slap on its face on Tuesday.
The written statement by Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai in Lok Sabha declaring that Andhra Pradesh has every right to choose the location of its capital has come as a big disappointment and shock to the farmers of Amaravati, who have been pinning their hopes on the Central intervention in the capital issue.
The Andhra Pradesh high court on Tuesday fumed at the YSR Congress government for shifting some of the government offices from Amaravati to Kurnool as part of decentralisation of administration, even as the case against the shifting is pending in the court.
In a big boost to the YSR Congress party government in Andhra Pradesh headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Centre on Tuesday clarified that the state had every right to have its capital anywhere it wanted.
The probable entry of Enforcement Directorate in the investigation into alleged insider trading of lands in Amaravati, wherein several big people had bought lands in their benami names has created a sensation in political and media circles.
It looks like a section of media strongly supporting the Telugu Desam Party is making every effort to malign the YSR Congress party government by spreading a campaign that senior officials are getting frustrated with the style of functioning of chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
It has become a routine affair for the parliament members from Andhra Pradesh to raise a question in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on granting special category status to the state every time, only to get the same answer from the Centre.
It has been more than 10 days since Andhra Pradesh state legislative council chairman Mohd Ahmed Sharif referred the two crucial bills – AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and the APCRDA (Repeal) Bill – to the select committee.
