Capital row to Naidu’s pitch, Andhra witnesses a politically charged year
Hindustan TimesHyderabad The YSRCP organised rallies in Tirupati and Kurnool to seek support for the three-capital plan. As he entered the third year of his rule, an anti-incumbency atmosphere is palpable in the state as was evident from the response his political rivals – Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan -- have been receiving to their state-wide tours. Jagan, who tactically withdrew the legislation on three capitals in November 2021 because of certain legal loopholes in it and announced that he would bring in a more fool-proof legislation, received a big setback when the state high court on March 3 endorsed Amaravati as the only capital of the state. The high court went to the extent of declaring that the state legislature has no legal competence to pass any legislation on the three capitals and even directed that the Jagan government complete the pending infrastructure works in Amaravati within six months and hand over the developed plots to the farmers who gave away their land for the capital within three months. Amaravati vs three capitals As the capital issue is caught in the legal wrangle, the farmers of Amaravati – supported by all the opposition parties including the TDP, Jana Sena and even Bharatiya Janata Party – had to witness a major counter attack from the ruling YSR Congress party.