Hyderabad: Amaravati will be the capital city of Andhra Pradesh if TDP, Jana Sena and BJP alliance wins the ensuing Assembly elections.
BJP MP Candidate C M Ramesh who is contesting from Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency told Siasat.com in an interview.
Ramesh, who served as the Rajya Sabha MP twice and his current tenure ending next month, asserted that Amaravati will be the capital choice and not Visakhapatnam, propped up by AP Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“Amaravati will be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. There are no two opinions about it. Though I am contesting from Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency which is close to Visakhapatnam would raise eyebrows on my comments, the fact remains that Amaravati will be the capital and we will develop it if we win the polls,” he asserted.
He added, “People of North Andhra Pradesh are not in favour of Vizag as State capital. It was promoted by some people and you know it for what reasons. Amaravati remains the ideal capital city for all.”
Asked about Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s three capital concepts — Visakhapatnam as an executive capital, Amaravati as Legislative capital and Kurnool as judicial capitals, respectively, he said the CM decision has brought development of the State and Amaravati to a grinding halt.
“If we win the ensuing assembly elections, we will pursue the capital city of Amaravati and revive the land pooling system where farmers gave lands for the development of AP capital,” he explained.
For the first time, the saffron party will contest the Assembly and Parliamentary elections in the State in alliance with the TDP and the Jana Sena Party (JSP).
AP has 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Interestingly, the BJP is contesting two of the three MP seats in the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district. While Ramesh has been fielded from Anakapalle, Kothapalli Geetha has been chosen for the Araku Lok Sabha seat. The JSP will contest three of the seven Assembly seats under Anakapalli Lok Sabha segment. These include Anakapalle, Yelamanchili and Pendurthi.
Ramesh also asserted that he would try his best to revive the Visakha Steel factory and ensure captive iron ore.
Asked about the long pending demand for Special category status for Andhra Pradesh, he said the present government had dumped it and in lieu took financial aid from the Centre but spent it on welfare schemes and others and not for industrialisation.
Asked about the talk that Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had regained lost ground in the State following three party alliance and is confident of a big win, he denied the same saying it was YSRCP rumour mill spreading the same.
“It’s a foregone conclusion that Jagan Mohan Reddy is out. There is no chance. TDP, Jana Sena and BJP alliance will win the assembly elections and a good number of Lok Sabha seats thanks to the huge image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he asserted.
Asked what made him choose Anakapalle when he hailed from Kadapa, he said when Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked me to be prepared to contest Lok Sabha elections, I had made a request for Anakapalle.
“From the beginning I wanted to contest from Visakhapatnam or nearby areas. My wish has been fulfilled. I will ensure rapid development of my constituency if elected,” he added.
Asked about the Rs 450 crore forgery case filed against him at Jubilee Hills Police station in Hyderabad, he stoutly denied it. “It’s trash. I am filing a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against the complainants,” he asserted.
