‘TDP will stand by Amaravati farmers’

The three-capital move is flawed and ill-timed, says Naidu

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu has extended support to the farmers who have been agitating for the retention of Amaravati as State Capital. On Saturday, the protest will complete 200 days.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Mr. Naidu said that the fight would continue and the TDP would march shoulder to shoulder with the protesting farmers until Amaravati is declared as the only Capital just as Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy promised in the Assembly when in the Opposition.

‘Learn from history’

History is proof that no country or State had ever prospered by dividing regions or people. Amaravati was an idea that was born out of the pangs of unjust bifurcation. It was envisioned to unite Telugus and be the building block of a powerful AP, he said, adding, “we only had our will, our manpower and the intellectual capital of our people, and we worked hard to build a self-financing Capital that generated jobs for the residents and strengthened economy with generous tax contributions owing to economic activity.”

Farmers had voluntarily parted with their hard-earned 33,000 acres of land as part of pooling, lauded by many as a one-of-its-kind initiative in the country. The three capitals idea is flawed and with the outbreak of COVID-19, it would only be viewed as inappropriate and ill-timed considering the plunging industrial and agricultural output, rising unemployment, and failing healthcare systems.

“I salute the indomitable spirit of thousands of farmers who have chosen the path of protest to not let the authoritarian government put the future of the State at risk,” he added.