In his address at the Global Investors Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday, January 31, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that the state capital would be relocated to Visakhapatnam. He added that he would be moving his office to the port city in the upcoming months. The announcement drew strong criticism from the opposition parties in the state who said that it amounts to contempt of court.
The state unit president of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, and party senior leader and Uravakonda MLA Payyavula Keshav said that Jagan had once again brought up the issue of the three capitals in order to divert the public’s attention from the CBI investigation into the murder of his uncle, Vivekananda Reddy.
“Bringing up the capital issue now constitutes contempt of court because the Andhra Pradesh High Court has made it clear that Amaravati is the state’s capital. Additionally, the state's appeal before the Supreme Court is still pending. How can the Chief Minister comment when the matter is currently under litigation,” Payyavula Keshav told the media.
Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader Pothina Venkata Mahesh said while speaking to the media, “The state high court ordered Amaravati to be made the capital. But the law seems to be of no concern to CM Jagan. He is acting in this way to his own advantage.” He demanded that the Union government also look into the matter.
The Communist Party of India (Maxist) also condemned the Chief Minister’s decision to shift the capital and his residence to Vizag. In a press release, the party’s state secretary V Srinivasa Rao said that Amaravati must be developed as the state capital, as a lot of money has already been spent with unanimous approval, including that of the YSRCP in the Assembly. The party also said that the announcement is misleading to the people of Uttarandhra (north Andhra) and increases speculation in the real estate sector.
“The state government had earlier withdrawn the law passed on the three capitals. The High Court ordered the development of Amaravati as the capital. The state government sought to stay the High Court verdict but the Supreme Court refused. The Chief Minister’s statement is contempt of court as the case in the Supreme Court is pending,” the statement further read.