Ever since Botsa Satyanarayana, Andhra Pradesh’s Municipal Administration minister hinted at a rethink on continuing with Amaravati as the state capital, it has led to confusion. The TDP has criticised such a move by the government.

But this one by Vijayawada MP of the TDP, Kesineni Nani would hurt. Making a reference to Muhammad bin Tughlaq (also spelt as Tughluq) who shifted his capital in the early part of the 14th century from Delhi to Daulatabad which proved to be a disaster causing lot of hardship to the people, Nani advised Jagan not to follow in Tughlaq’s footsteps. 

“I pray that you make your name does not go into history like Tughlag,” tweeted Nani. 

The YSRCP is not taking kindly to this unflattering comparison. Its supporters have reminded the TDP that the Sivaramakrishnan committee had recommended other places to set up the Andhra capital and had rejected Amaravati as an option because it is located in the flood zone. But Chandrababu Naidu, ignoring the advice, plumped for Amaravati. Nani is being told to introspect and decide which chief minister exhibited Tughlaq-like dictatorial decision-making. The recent floods have vindicated the Sivaramakrishnan committee’s position. 

Also read : Has Jagan dumped Amaravati?

Tughlaq seems to be a favorite historical figure with the TDP leadership. Former Finance minister Y Ramakrishnudu had described Jagan’s decision to demolish the illegally constructed Praja Vedika in June as a “Tughlaq act”. The YSRCP government had brought down this structure, constructed adjacent to Naidu’s residence because it was built in violation of environment laws.