Taking strong objection to the proposal to set up three Capitals in the name of decentralisation of administration, BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana has said that his party is in favour of retaining the seed capital (State Legislature, Secretariat and related infrastructure) in Amaravati. It, however, has no objection to establishing the High Court in Kurnool and its Bench in Amaravati.
Addressing the media here on Saturday, Mr. Lakshminarayana stated that the BJP would fight on behalf of the farmers and not hesitate to initiate legal action, if required, to ensure that the government did not implement its “unilateral decision.”
Mr. Lakshminarayana said there was no historical precedent of a change in the location of a Capital city after a new Chief Minister took the reins of power.
But Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was trying to shift the Ccapital city without taking into confidence the farmers on whose lands Amaravati was being built.
The expert committee led by G.N. Rao did not consult all the political parties, he stated, and questioned whether the YSRCP was the only party that existed in the State.
Mr. Lakshminarayana said that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy should remember that he had extended support to the development of the Capital city in Amaravati.
Referring to the alleged insider trading in the allocation of lands in Amaravati, he wondered whether the Chief Minister had any proof of it, or did he compromise at some stage in his own interests.
Mr. Lakshminarayana said that the farmers in Amaravati had parted with their lands because they trusted the government of the day. It was not Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, or his successor, to whom the fertile lands had been given.
The Chief Minister’s idea of setting up the legislative, executive and judicial capitals would give the impression that the governments in the State were inconsistent in their policy outlook and actions. It would not at all be good for the State, he said.
Plan for Vizag
Mr. Lakshminarayana said that Visakhapatnam could be transformed into a “financial district” and “IT hub,” and the BJP would not object to it as the port city was perfectly suitable for such facilities.
The State government was also answerable to the ₹2,500 crore given by the Central government for creation of infrastructure in Amaravati, he said, and asserted that the ‘three capitals’ were not a scheme to be introduced by the Chief Minister.
