The Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government in Andhra Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has decisively scrapped the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government's proposal to create three capitals for the state, declaring Amaravati as the sole capital city.
Now, former state Congress president and ex-minister Sake Sailajanath has raised a fresh demand—calling for two capital cities for Andhra Pradesh.
On Monday, he advocated for the establishment of a second capital city in the Rayalaseema region.
Reacting strongly to the Naidu government’s recent decision to establish a High Court bench in Kurnool instead of making it the judicial capital, Sailajanath stated that the move would hurt the sentiments of the Rayalaseema people.
"The decision to relocate the High Court from Kurnool to Amaravati, while setting up only a bench in Kurnool, is completely unfair and amounts to a betrayal of Rayalaseema. This injustice can only be corrected by establishing a second capital in the Rayalaseema region," he demanded.
Sailajanath called for a renewed discussion on the locations of the state capital and High Court, emphasizing the importance of public opinion to prevent regional tensions and the potential resurgence of separatist movements.
He highlighted that during the announcement of Amaravati as the state capital after Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation, public opinion was not adequately considered.
"There were agreements to locate either the capital or the High Court in Rayalaseema," he pointed out.
While Amaravati was declared the capital, the failure to establish the High Court in Kurnool was an injustice, he said, asserting that setting up only a bench in Kurnool is a direct affront to Rayalaseema.
The former minister also noted that the previous government had designated Kurnool as the judicial capital and had initiated steps to establish the High Court there, including relocating the offices of the Human Rights Commission and Lokayukta.
However, rumors under the current administration suggested that these offices might be moved to Amaravati, although the government later clarified that this was untrue.
