Hyderabad: The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh (AP) on Friday reiterated that it has a clear agenda on the 3-capital policy. A day ahead of the massive ‘Visakha Garjana Sabha’, senior YSRCP leader and Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) chairman YV Subba Reddy slammed the opposition for “setting a false narrative”.
YSRCP’s YV Subba Reddy asserted that his government is keen to develop Amaravati, the future of which hangs in the balance as AP chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy chose to go for a decentralised plan with three capitals instead after coming to power in 2019. Ever since the YSRCP government scrapped the previous TDP government’s plan to develop Amaravati, AP once again was left hanging without a plan to develop a new capital.
On Friday, YV Subba Reddy said that his government is “determined” to develop all the regions of AP equally. “YSRCP government is establishing a legislative capital in Amaravati. Opposition parties are trying to give a bad impression about the government and misguiding the public, saying that the YSRCP is trying to stall the development of Amaravati,” he shared.
Rebutting the claims of opposition parties against the decentralisation plan, Subba Reddy stated that while ruling YSRCP government in AP is committed to develop Amaravati as a legislative capital, Vizag also needs to be developed as an administrative capital. “Vizag is developed in all measures and we need not spend a single penny on developing the city as the capital,” he added.
Recently, the YSRCP government, led by chief minister AP government’s three-capitals plan was dealt a blow when the High Court bench on March 3 ruled that the state legislature has no “competence” to enact any law for shifting the three organs of the capital.
The court directed the AP-Capital Region Development Authority to go ahead and complete the process of developing Amaravati as a capital city, that had been planned by the previous TDP government under ex-chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. However, the YSRCP-government has challenged that in the Supreme Court.
Expressing confidence of the YSRCP government’s decentralisation plan, YV Subba Reddy said that with the existing establishments in Vizag, the state can “immediately” start functioning from there as it is fully developed. He added that Kurnool will also be developed as the judicial capital, as planned earlier. It is however unclear how the Ap government will go ahead with its plan in spite of the High Court order.
“That is the motto of our CM Jagan Mohan Reddy who wants to ensure de-centralisation of administration. Since it is the wish of the Andhra Pradesh people, we are committed to do that (thre capitals),” Subba Reddy added.
