48 hour deadline over, Naidu asks people to intensify protest over Amaravati

As the 48 hour deadline set by TDP president to dissolve the Assembly ended, former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday gave a clarion call to the people to intensify their protest against the Andhra Pradesh government’s move to shift the capital to Vizag from Amaravati.

Naidu once again challenged Jagan Mohan Reddy to seek a fresh mandate if he had the courage and if he was fully confident of having total approval of the people for his three capitals move.

“We are ready to resign. Do you have the guts to quit and go to people again to seek votes on three capitals issue,” Naidu questioned.

He vowed to stand by the farmers and five crore people of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP will continue agitations and legal battle against the three capitals and called upon the people to come forward to safeguard the interests of the State.

The TDP chief appealed to the central government to intervene and stop the Jagan government from shifting the capital to Vizag although the state BJP had made it clear that it was a state subject and that the center has no role to play.

Naidu recalled the statements given by Jagan and YSRC leaders prior to 2019 Assembly polls that Amaravati would continue as the only capital of the State. After making that promise, the Chief Minister has no right to shift the capital without the approval of five crore people of the State, Naidu asserted.

Earlier, Naidu gave 48 hours time to Andhra Pradesh government to respond to his demand on seeking re-election. On Wednesday, Naidu has has once again fired at Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy asking why the YSRCP did not include the three capitals issue in its manifesto.

Naidu reminded that the YSRCP in its 2019 election manifesto assured the five crore people of Andhra Pradesh that the party would continue the state capital in Amaravati alone and that it would be fully developed. The Andhra Pradesh Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution that Vijayawada region will be the capital region of the state. Naidu hoped that the Centre will put a brake to AP government’s move to develop three state capitals — an executive one in Visakhapatnam, a legislative one in Amaravati and a judicial one in KurnooL.

Addressing a virtual press conference, he charged that the Chief Minister went ahead with his three capital plan without discussing or taking the people into confidence.

“The three capitals was not mentioned in the YSRCP manifesto. Jagan on several occasions also stated that Amaravati will remain the capital. He decided the farmers of the state and aspirations of five crore people,” Naidu stated.

To buttress his point, Naidu had played the videos of Jagan, Alla Nani and several YSRCP leaders who vowed to retain Amaravati as the capital ahead of 2019 elections.

Further, the TDP president also reminded that the previous government had built buildings for Assembly, Secretariat, High Court and Raj Bhavan. “72 per cent work on MLA and MLC quarters was completed. Nearly Rs 9,000 crore was spent on all the works. Today, Jagan has thrown a spanner on all the good work done by our government,” he said.

Naid also recalled that YSRCP Mylavaram MLA Vasanta Krishna Prasad, who hails from Krishna district, had even threatened to quit from the party if the capital was shifted to Vizag from Amaravati.

“The YSRCP party had hidden its agenda to shift the capital from Amaravati. The YSRCP made the people of Andhra Pradesh to believe that the capital would be retained in Amaravati, but after getting a massive mandate the party has deceived and betrayed the people who voted them to power,” Naidu fumed.