Lok Sabha passes bill to name Amaravati AP capital as YSRCP walks out
Minister of State Nityanand Rai presented the bill for consideration and passage, which was followed by a debate that lasted almost two hours. The bill introduced a single amendment to Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014: “In subsection (2), the words ‘and there shall be a new capital city’ shall be substituted with the words ‘and Amaravati shall be the new capital city'”. Congress MP Manickam Tagore opened the debate and supported the bill saying: “Andhra Pradesh trusted this Parliament and gave up its capital Hyderabad. But we demand that the capital of Amaravati should be fully financed by the Centre. At the same time, Andhra should also get the promised special category status.”
TDP MP Chandrasekhar Pemmasani called the bill an “important turning point in the history of the state” and said the capital was built on the sacrifices of the people.
Opposing the bill, YSRCP MP PV Midhun Reddy said: “On one hand, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently made a statement that the state only has money to pay salaries, on the other hand, the government has embarked on this ambitious project of a brand new capital. I would like to ask the government why they are acquiring land in the second phase when they cannot implement projects on already acquired land.”
Reddy said 54,000 acres of land have been acquired and the government has purchased more land. “Kolkata has gone up to 51,000 acres, while NDMC has gone up to 10,500 acres. Why are you taking away fertile land from farmers? Isn’t 54,000 acres enough?” he said, adding that the bill should include specific timelines for when compensation will be provided to farmers and when projects will be completed. Reddy and three other YSRCP MPs left the Assembly.
BJP MP CM Ramesh attacked YSRCP and accused former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy of opposing Amaravati. He said Reddy’s idea of three capital cities for Andhra Pradesh was “unreasonable”. “We have seen with our own eyes how projects are stopped and destroyed because of one man’s ego. Governments come and go, but you cannot waste people’s money by turning back the clock on ongoing projects,” he said.
The bill was accepted by voice vote. It will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
