Jagan government committed to three state capitals, says advisor

Amaravati, Feb 15:  Andhra Pradesh government's advisor on political affairs and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) General Secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy on Wednesday clarified that the government remained committed to its policy of three state capitals.

He alleged that the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is creating confusion among people over the state capital.

The clarification came after Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy's statement about the state capital.

Ramakrishna Reddy claimed that Rajendranath Reddy only reiterated the government's stand but "the TDP's friendly" media distorted his statement.

At a road show held in Bengaluru on Tuesday as part of the Global Investment Summit Vizag campaign, Rajendranath Reddy said that there is a lot of miscommunication on the issue of state capital. He told the investors that the state government was committed to starting the rule from Visakhapatnam.

The Finance Minister also stated that the YSRCP government has decided on Visakhapatnam as the next capital of Andhra Pradesh. "That Andhra Pradesh has three capitals is completely wrong," he was quoted as saying.

As for Kurnool as the judicial capital, Rajendranath said that Kurnool is not the capital, but the Principal Bench of the High Court would be set up there. He further stated that it was the government's decision to hold Assembly sessions in Guntur district (Amaravati).

However, a day after the Finance Minister's statement, Ramakrishna Reddy made it clear that the YSRCP government headed by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is committed to development of all regions of the state.

Ramakrishna Reddy told reporters at the state Secretariat that the government has already declared that Visakhapatnam will be the administrative capital while Amaravati will be the legislative capital and Kurnool will be developed as judicial capital.

"We remain committed to our policy of decentralisation of governance," he said and alleged that the opposition TDP and its "friendly media" are creating confusion among people.

"Not a bench but the entire High Court will come up in Kurnool," he said when asked about the Finance Minister's statement. "I don't know in which context he made the statement," he remarked.

Claiming that some elements were making claims for real estate business, the government advisor called on people not to get misled by their false propaganda. Some people are deliberately spreading misinformation, he said.

Ramakrishna Reddy said that the YSRCP government will not do politics over state capitals for elections. "We don't say one thing during the election and another thing after elections," he said.

The advisor recalled that Shivarama Krishna Committee had recommended decentralisation of power and slammed TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for missing an opportunity.

The YSRCP leader said Chandrababu Naidu had estimated that development of Amaravati as the state capital will cost Rs 1 lakh crore and since the government is not in a position to bear this expenditure, it decided to go for decentralised development with three state capitals.