Just last week, during the winter session of the Andhra Pradesh assembly, Municipal Administration minister Botsa Satyanarayana in a written reply said there was no proposal to shift the state capital out of Amaravati. A day later, he watered down his own official response by saying the expert committee will take the call. Four days later, his chief minister has declared that the government could have three capitals for Andhra Pradesh.
On Tuesday, Jaganmohan Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh, like South Africa, could have three capitals – Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool for the Executive, Legislative and Judicial functions respectively. Unlike what Chandrababu Naidu envisaged, this will reduce Amaravati to a pitstop only during the three sessions of the Legislative Assembly and Council. The grandiose dream for Amaravati will be officially over.
So while Satyanarayana can claim that Amaravati will continue to be a capital, it clearly will not be THE capital if Jagan puts his plan to practise. While the new map of India has Amaravati mentioned as Andhra Pradesh capital now, one wonders if that honour will continue to remain with the undeveloped city or go to Vizag, which will be the real seat of power.
More importantly, was Satyanarayana deliberately misleading the House or was he blissfully unaware of his chief minister’s plan?
