YSRCP forms joint panel to step up agitation for three capitals
In September, the chief minister made it clear during the monsoon session of the state assembly that there is no question of going back on shifting the administrative capital to Visakhapatnam, while making Kurnool as the judicial capital and restricting Amaravati as the legislative capital.
The ongoing tussle between the farmers of Amaravati, the present capital region of Andhra Pradesh, and the Jagan Mohan Reddy government over the proposal to form three capitals for the state is snowballing into a major issue.

In September, the chief minister made it clear during the monsoon session of the state assembly that there is no question of going back on shifting the administrative capital to Visakhapatnam, while making Kurnool as the judicial capital and restricting Amaravati as the legislative capital.
The Jagan government already filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court on September 17 challenging the March 3 judgement of the state high court declaring Amaravati as the only capital of the state. The petition is yet to come up for hearing.
On the other hand, the Amaravati farmers, while preparing themselves for a long-drawn legal battle in the apex court, have been on a padayatra to Arasavilli in Srikakulam district to mobilise public support for their demand for retention of the only capital city at Amaravati.
As their padayatra, which began on September 12, is inching towards Visakhapatnam, the proposed administrative capital, the YSRCP has decided to go all out to stall the farmers from entering the north coastal Andhra.
As part of the strategy, the YSRCP formed a joint action committee (JAC) including several political outfits, people’s organisations and individuals on Saturday to step up the agitation in support of three capitals for Andhra Pradesh.
YSRCP legislator from Chodavaram assembly constituency in Anakapalli district and government whip Karanam Dharmasri on Monday announced an action plan on behalf of the JAC to prevent the Amaravati farmers from entering the north-coastal Andhra.
“The farmers of Amaravati are virtually invading our region in the name of padayatra and it has hurt the emotions of the people here. There is no question of allowing them into our region,” Dharmasri said.
He said the farmers had no right to question the government’s decision to shift the administrative capital to Visakhapatnam, which is the biggest city in the state. “We want development to be decentralised for all the regions, not confined to just Amaravati,” he said.
Dharmasri announced that the YSRCP had taken the initiative to form a JAC with former vice-chancellor of Dr B R Amedkar University H Lajapathi Rai as convener to take up a series of programmes “to educate the people of north coastal Andhra on the need to have three capitals for the state”.
“Starting Tuesday, the JAC will hold round-table conferences in two assembly constituencies every day in all the 15 constituencies in the erstwhile combined Viskahapatnam district. We are also appointing district-level committees to take up several programmes in support of three capitals and to stall the padayatra,” the MLA said.
The JAC is also planning to organise bike rallies and candle light rallies in every town as part of spreading the movement for three capitals to every nook and corner of the region.
The JAC is planning to hold a massive rally in Visakhapatnam On October 15.
“A four-kilometre long march will be taken up on that day from Ambedkar statue to the Andhra University in support of the government’s decision,” he said.
Earlier, at the Saturday’s round-table conference, Dharmasri had announced his resignation from his assembly membership in order to achieve executive capital for Visakhapatnam. State industries minister Gudivada Amarnath and Bheemi MLA Avanti Srinivas also declared that they were also prepared to quit their assembly seats for the cause.
Telugu Desam Party’s Andhra unit president K Atchannaidu on Tuesday accused the YSRCP leaders of “conspiring a regional divide by instigating the people of north-coastal Andhra in general and Visakhapatnam in particular against Amaravati farmers”.
“The proposed programmes of the JAC floated by the YSRCP are only to divert the people’s attention from the failures of the Jagan government and indiscriminate looting of resources by the YSRCP leaders in Visakhapatnam,” he alleged.
He wondered “why the chief minister, who is talking about decentralised development, has not done anything for Visakhapatnam in the last three and a half years”. “People of north coastal Andhra are intelligent enough to see through the evil designs of the Jagan government,” he alleged.