In a political turn of events, the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP passed a resolution at its Rayalaseema regional meeting, demanding that the state set up a second capital in the area.
The BJP was holding a meeting in Kurnool city on Friday, and said that the second capital could be located in either of the four districts of Rayalaseema; Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur or Chittoor.
The meeting was organised by BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and its state president S Vishnuvardhan Reddy, who lashed out at the ruling TDP government for failing to ensure development in the region.
A “Rayalaseema Declaration” putting forth 16 demands, was also adopted at the meet.
Besides a second capital, and the establishment of the upcoming Andhra Pradesh High Court in the region, the declaration also said that Assembly sessions should be held in the Rayalaseema region, once in six months.
The BJP also demanded a special budgetary allocation of Rs 20,000 crore to complete various irrigation projects in the region.
"The state high court should have its permanent building not in Amaravati but in Rayalaseema. Even the proposed temporary accommodation for the high court should also be constructed in this region,” national executive committee member Shanta Reddy was quoted as saying.
The BJP also appealed to Naidu earlier, to not repeat his ‘mistake’ of developing a single region between Vijayawada and Guntur while ignoring the rest of the state.
After the state’s bifurcation in 2014 for the creation of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has been building its upcoming capital Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna River, with its latest target being the location of the High Court building.
Even as the state is looking at Vijayawada city civil court complex to host the temporary High Court, lawyers have been demanding that it should be established in the Rayalaseema region.
Last month, lawyers from the Rayalaseema High Court Sadhana Samithi met acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan of the Hyderabad High Court and urged him to consider their demand, stating that injustice had been done to the region.
However, the Chief Minister has said that the Rayalaseema region could only get a bench of the High Court, but not the entire judicial branch.