Annamayya District Split Evokes Mixed Response
ANANTAPUR: The division of Annamayya district has sparked mixed reactions from political groups and organizations across the affected Assembly segments and mandals. The three-and-a-half-year-old Rayachoti district headquarters became history on Wednesday when the headquarters was shifted to Madanapalle. The collectorate, SP office and other district offices at Rayachoti will be vacated and shifted to the newly designated district headquarters at Madanapalle.
Protests continued in Rayachoti against the decision to move the district headquarters. YSRC secretary and Rayachoti in-charge G. Srikanth Reddy along with party cadres and Joint Action Committee members staged a protest demanding the government to withdraw the decision. Srikanth Reddy said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had assured that the headquarters would not be changed during the election campaign in Rayachoti.
Terming the decision “unscientific”, he said it hurt not only the people of Rayachoti but also the devotees of saint Annamayya from Tallapaka in Rajampet district. He warned that the agitation would intensify if the government did not pay attention to public opinion.
Meanwhile, a video of Transport minister and MLA Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy went viral on social media. In the previously recorded video, the minister was seen challenging his political rivals by stating that he would shave off his mustache and resign from his post if Rayachoti was removed from his position as the regional headquarters. YSRC targeted the minister and demanded that he respect his statement.
In contrast, people in Railway Kodur welcomed the merger of the Assembly division with Tirupati district. It was reported that after Rajampet was included in Kadapa district, celebrations were also held in Rajampet and Kadapa. Moreover, the historical mandals of Vontimitta, Siddavatam and Rajampet were merged with Kadapa district.
A large number of TD leaders and cadres from the three mandals welcomed the government’s decision, congratulating TD politburo member R. Srinivasulu Reddy at his camp office in Kadapa on Wednesday, citing improved administrative access to Kadapa.
