A.P. Assembly passes resolution to notify Amaravati as the only capital

A.P. Assembly passes resolution to declare Amaravati as the sole capital, seeking amendments to the A.P. Reorganisation Act.

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Saturday passed a resolution, requesting the Central government to declare and notify Amaravati as the sole capital city of the State.

The resolution said that the words ‘at Amaravati’ be inserted in Section 5 (2) of the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014 (APRA) and ‘and Amaravati includes the Capital city areas notified under the A.P. Capital Regional Development Act, 2014’ be added to the explanation to Section 5 as per the advice of the High Court contained in its order dated March 3, 2022.

Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu forwarded the resolution to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha Speaker, Union Home Minister, Secretary of the Union Home Ministry and Chief Secretary of the State government to have the APRA amended to that effect.

The 11 MLAs of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), including its president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, remained absent when the resolution was passed in the House .

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the A.P. government had shifted its base of operation to the Vijayawada-Guntur region soon after the bifurcation of the unified State in 2014, though it could stay in Hyderabad, the joint capital of A.P. and Telangana, for 10 more years.

“The government wanted to build A.P.’s own capital as quickly as possible. However, then Leader of Opposition, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, had initially offered unconditional support to the capital proposed in Amaravati, but changed his stand after winning the 2019 elections, due to sheer political expediency,” he said.