Andhra Pradesh

BJP MP : Jagan will dump Amaravati, plans four capitals for Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati will not be the capital city of Andhra Pradesh in the near future. According to Rajya Sabha MP TG Venkatesh, who defected from the Telugu Desam to the BJP in June, Jaganmohan Reddy has arrived at this decision. Amaravati will be reduced to a mere regional office, claims Venkatesh, adding Jagan has shared this plan with the BJP central leadership, who disclosed it to him. 

Speaking to mediapersons in Kurnool on Sunday, Venkatesh said Jagan’s plan is to set up planning boards for all the four regions in Andhra Pradesh – Rayalaseema, south coastal Andhra, Krishna and Godavari districts and north-coastal Andhra. If one goes by Venkatesh-speak, Jagan will appoint four deputy chief ministers, one from each region. The intention would be to decentralise the administration and be seen as doing justice to all regions. 

A city in each of the four regions would then be developed as capital cities. These are likely to be Vizianagaran, Kakinada, Guntur and Kadapa. It is possible they could be christened as regional Secretariats.

Venkatesh said the decision to dump Amaravati was taken because Jagan is not in favour of building a concrete jungle in place of fertile Krishna delta land. 

“People will be happy with the decision. Hailing from Rayalaseema, I can tell you we will be happy,” said Venkatesh.

The sensational comments come at a time when Municipal Administration minister Botsa Satyanarayana had spoken of Amaravati as a flood-prone area as a result of which too much investment would be needed to keep it safe from inundation. There has also been talk of the possibility of a referendum on the capital issue, to make it seem that YSRCP was going by the wishes of the people instead of taking a unilateral decision. People in Rayalaseema and north-coastal Andhra have always resented the extra attention showered on Amaravati. 

TG Venkatesh (extreme left) with Amit Shah and JP Nadda

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