‘Convene all-party meet to resolve capital row’

YSRCP has no moral right to change its stand now after supporting Amaravati initially: Sailajanath

APCC president S. Sailajanath addressing the party workers’ meeting in Ongole on Sunday.

APCC president S. Sailajanath on Sunday asked Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the capital row.

“The capital of the State is no intra-party affair for the YSRCP supremo to act according to his whims and fancies. The capital should not be changed without any broad consensus among all the parties in the State,” he asserted at a media conference here after a party workers meeting. Moreover, after supporting the location of capital at Amaravati during the TDP rule, the YSRCP had no moral right to change it now, he said.

The YSRCP had neither included change of capital in its manifesto nor Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy revealed his intentions during his padayatra before coming to power, he added.

Council issue

Vehemently opposing the YSRCP government’s decision to abolish the Legislative Council after it did not toe the line of the ruling party on decentralised capital, he said locating the three arms of the State – the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary – at three places would not facilitate rapid progress in the State. It was the YSR government that had revived the Council in unified Andhra Pradesh, and doing away with it would amount to an insult to the late leader, he added.

‘What about SCS?’

The State in the present situation lacked conducive atmosphere to attract big industrial investments, Mr. Sailajanath pined, and promised to extend his party’s support to the Chief Minister if he led the fight in New Delhi for Special Category Status (SCS) and for implementation of all the promises made at the time of bifurcation.

It was unfortunate that the YSRCP chief, who had asked his MPs to put in their papers for SCS, chose to remain silent now, he said.

The party would contest on its own all the seats in the coming local body elections, he added. Accusing the YSRCP of shedding crocodile tears for minorities after supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act in Parliament, party State working president Mastan Wali dared the Jagan Mohan Reddy government to convene a special Assembly session and adopt a resolution against the Act, the NRC and the NPR.

It was unfortunate that the ruling YSRCP, as well as the TDP and the JSP vied with each other in backing the “communal” BJP at the Centre, former Union Minister J.D. Seelam alleged. He asked the partymen to step up campaign at the grass roots against the “sectarian agenda” of the Modi Government and the “nexus” among these parties.