Andhra Pradesh Opposition party leaders on Friday, December 17, said the fight to keep Amaravati as a single capital is justified and alleged that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy lacked vision. Addressing a public meeting organised by the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, Leader of Opposition and Telugu Desam party chief Chandrababu Naidu claimed that when he was in power, his government spent Rs 10,000 crore on Amaravati, and accused the present CM Jagan of neglecting it.
Barring YSRCP, all other political parties including the BJP and CPI shared the dais. Though BJP had earlier declared that it is in favour of setting up the High Court in Kurnool, the leaders did not mention it in their speeches.
All the leaders unequivocally declared that they are for Amaravati as capital of Andhra Pradesh. YSRCP rebel Lok Sabha MP Raghurama Krishnam Raju also attended the meeting. He was seen hugging Naidu on the dais.
"You (Jagan) don't have to spend any money on developing Amaravati. It will automatically develop if you do not disturb it. If you cannot develop, say so. Five crore people of Andhra Pradesh will take the responsibility of developing it," Naidu said in his speech.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly last month passed a Bill to repeal the controversial AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, that was intended to establish three capitals for the state.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, however, told the Assembly his government would bring a "comprehensive, complete and better" Decentralisation Bill. The 2020 Act was being repealed to protect the larger interests of people, he said.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on December 15 allowed the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi to hold a public meeting in Tirupati as a mark of culmination of their foot march from (Naya Sthanam to Devasthanam) Amaravati to Tirupati.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) State Secretary P Madhu, said his party wanted to attend the meeting but it abstained due to the presence of the BJP, alleging it had disregarded its promises to the state on many public issues. It was unfortunate that the party had been invited to the meeting by its organisers, he said in a release but assured CPI(M) would always support the agitating farmers of Amaravati.