Amaravati to be lone capital, will be completed within 3 years of TDP coming back to power, says Lokesh

Stating that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had completely damaged the future of the 5 crore people of the state, Lokesh said that the Amaravati farmers had sacrificed their lands keeping in mind the progress of these people.

“The state will have a better future only if this psycho Jagan is eased out of power. This is not the regret of Amaravati but the wrath of the state,” he said.

The TDP national general secretary made it clear that all those who made the Amaravati farmers suffer would be taken to task. He also said that a judicial inquiry would be conducted against all those who created trouble for the farmers, and they would even be put behind bars if necessary.

“Jagan, who welcomed Amaravati as the capital when he was in Opposition, is now spewing venom in the name of caste and religion,” said Lokesh.

Also read: Naidu asks ‘Why Not Pulivendula’, raises pro-Amaravati slogan

Against ‘3 capitals’ plan

It was on 17 December, 2019 — barely six months after the YSRCP came to power in the state — that Jagan hinted in the Assembly that Andhra Pradesh might have three capitals and the government might look into that option for the overall uniform development of the state.

A day after the announcement, farmers in 29 villages who had parted with their land for the proposed core capital of Amaravati launched an agitation, which completed 1,000 days recently.

Notwithstanding the protests, the Jagan government brought in laws to develop three capitals instead of one mega capital at Amaravati. The construction activity in Amaravati also came to a complete standstill.

In the last four years, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government could not, however, implement its three-capital plan due to various reasons, including legal tangles.

High court judgement

In a severe blow to the Jagan government, a three-judge bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra on 3 March last year ordered that Amaravati be developed as the capital of the state as planned under the APCRDA Act brought by the previous TDP government.

Subsequently, the state government approached the Supreme Court where the case is being heard by a three-judge bench.

After the state government brought in a law scrapping the APCRDA Act and the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, farmers approached the high court.

The state government subsequently repealed the two controversial laws but said it would bring back them in a new form.

During the tenure of Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister, farmers — under a land-pooling scheme — surrendered their land for which they were promised that, for every acre of land pooled, 800-1,000 sq yards of residential and 100-450 square yards of commercial land would be given to them in the layouts developed by CRDA, with all amenities.

Now, they fear that if the executive arm of the capital goes to Vizag, the value of their sites in Amaravati will drop drastically.

Also read: Why Amaravati’s R5 Zone is a bone of contention

Suspended YSRCP MLA turns emotional

On Sunday, 13 August, the suspended YSRCP MLA Dr Undavalli Sridevi too participated in Lokesh’s interaction with Amaravati farmers.

Sridevi represents the Tadikonda Assembly segment that falls under the proposed core capital region of Amaravati.

The MLA said she had betrayed the Amaravati people by assuring them during the 2019 polls that the capital would not be moved from this region.

“I, too, betrayed you all. During the 2019 polls, I visited every one of you and assured you that the capital will not be moved from here. But, I was also deceived like you,” she said in an emotional tone as tears rolled out from her eyes.

Sridevi was suspended by YSRCP leadership for cross-voting for a TDP candidate in February during MLC polls under the MLA quota.

Also read: Will join Amaravati stir, says suspended YSRCP MLA Sridevi