TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday slammed the government for describing the Amaravati issue as a problem concerning a mere 29,000 farmers who had parted with their lands for construction of the capital city.
“Any damage to Amaravati will cause severe loss and injustice to all sections of people in the State,” Mr. Naidu observed while addressing the media via a video link.
“Andhra Pradesh is already suffering the consequences of the anti-people policies of the YSRCP government. Its plan, which borders on hate, to undermine Amaravati will not only hurt the capital region farmers but also adversely impact the entire State on the socio-economic and political fronts,” Mr. Naidu said.
Asserting that the TDP government had conceived and started developing Amaravati with a view to creating a vibrant and potential capital city, Mr. Naidu said Amaravati would meet the aspirations of the people of the State.
“The Chief Ministers of the combined State, after taking over the reins, continued the developmental projects initiated by the TDP. Former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy too never stalled the projects launched by the TDP. Projects such as the international airport, Outer Ring Road, Cyberabad, and Genome Valley had come up during the TDP term. Had these projects been stalled, Hyderabad would not have become a vibrant city,” Mr. Naidu said.
‘Why ill will?’
Seeking to know why Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was harbouring “ill will and hatred towards Amaravati,” Mr. Naidu said the Chief Minister had no right or authority to change the Capital as it was neither in the State list, nor the Central list, nor the Concurrent list.
“Parliament alone has the authority to debate and take a final call on the issue,” he said.
