Freedom fighter Potti Sriramulu wanted the capital of Andhra Pradesh to be built in Rayalaseema, and it was due to his 56-day fast that the State of Andhra Pradesh was carved out of the erstwhile Madras Presidency with Kurnool as its capital, BJP Rajya Sabha MP T.G. Venkatesh said here on Sunday.
It would be a fitting tribute to the great man if the second capital of Andhra Pradesh is set up in Rayalaseema, Mr. Venkatesh said.
Garlanding the statue of Potti Sriramulu here in the city, Mr. Venkatesh said that even if the capital is set up in Visakhapatnam, only the locals of that region would benefit, and to speed up development in the Rayalaseema region, the second capital must be set up in this region, he said.
Kurnool, after remaining the capital for three years, remained undeveloped and jobs also went to the locals in Hyderabad.
“The same mistake was done by shifting the capital to Amaravati,” he alleged. “Rayalaseema farmers sacrificed 85,000 acres of land for the Srisailam project, but the coastal region and Telangana are drawing water and reaping the fruits, whereas the Rayalaseema lands have remained parched. Except for the Telugu Ganga project during N.T. Rama Rao’s time and Pothyreddypadu during Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure, no other project has come to Rayalaseema that is worth mentioning,” he opined.
