PMO enquires about three capitals bill

In a significant development, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday enquired about the two crucial and controversial Bills related to three Capitals formation and CRDA Repeal.

The Jagan government presented to Governor Bishwabhushan Harichandan the two bills on the AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) and the formation of three capitals for his assent. The PMO sought detailed information on the crucial bills.

The bills, highly opposed by all the Opposition parties, were created to make executive capital at Visakhapatnam and judicial capital at Kurnool, while making the present capital, Amaravati, as the legislative capital.

The PMO’s enquiry comes in the wake of anxiety among the people of Andhra Pradesh over the Governor’s decision over the Bills. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation for the capital in Amaravati when N Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The central government and several Hindu organisations are upset over the Jagan government’s proposed move to create three capitals. They have decried the bills as an attack on Hinduism.

While the YSRCP leaders were confident that the Governor would give his assent and Presidential nod, Bishwabhushan Harichandan seems to be in no hurry to pass the Bills. The Governor had to face an embarrassment in Nimmagada Ramesh Kumar case when he passed an ordinance promulgated by the Andhra Pradesh to reduce the SEC term to three years from five years. Once bitten twice shy, the Governor is likely to refer the two Bills to President Ram Nath Kovind after a thorough legal examination.

YSRCP ‘rebel’ YSRCP Lok Sabha member Raghurama Krishna Raju had recently met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum to him with an appeal to intervene in the three capitals issues.

He had urged the President to ensure that Amaravati be retained as the capital as per the wishes of the people of Andhra Pradesh. He appealed to the President to press upon the Governor not to give his assent to the two Bills. Amaravati joint action committee chairman G V R Sastry also met the President on the issue.

On Thursday, in an ominous message to the Jagan government, actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan warned of a mass movement in Andhra Pradesh centred around the ongoing agitation in Amaravati likening it to Nandigram agitation in West Bengal.

On several occasions, former chief minister and TDP president Chandrababu Naidu decried the proposed move to create three capitals stating that the bifurcation act passed by the Parliament suggested ‘one Capital’ for AP, and that the two bills under consideration were brought in violation of the country’s established Parliamentary traditions.

The state Assembly had already passed the two crucial Bills and sent them to the council where there was a stalemate on whether or not they should be sent to the select committee.

The Opposition leaders, mainly the TDP, termed the two bills unconstitutional since they were not passed nor cleared by the Select Committee in the Legislative Council so far.

Thousands of farmers from 29 villages gave away over 35,000 acres of land for capital creation in Amaravati during the TDP regime. However, the YSRCP government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy announced shifting of the capital from Amaravti to Vizag, a move that triggered protests from the farmers who gave away their land for formation of capital in Amaravati.