Telugu Desam Party national president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday challenged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to hold a referendum on the idea of three capitals. Mr. Naidu said that he would quit politics if majority of people voted against the location of capital at Amaravati.
Addressing a public meeting organised to mark one year of launching of a protest against the government’s plan to shift the capital, Mr. Naidu alleged that ever since Mr. Jagan came to power, he had been making moves to shift the capital out of Amaravati and later came up with the idea of three capitals.
“Mr. Jagan says insider trading has taken place in Amaravati. What has he done in the last 19 months? Why did he fail to prove his allegations? Everyone knows that farmers have voluntarily given 34,000 acres as part of land pooling scheme, of which 8,274 acres will be with the government. Had Mr. Jagan continued the capital works, 130 firms would have set up offices in Amaravati making it like Cyberabad,’’ said Mr. Naidu.
Stating that Amaravati would have become a centre for growth, Mr. Naidu demanded that the Chief Minister rescind his decision on three capitals and resume all activities relating to construction in Amaravati. The TDP chief said his vision had helped Cyberabad to become a global destination for major IT and ITeS companies, which were providing employment to 13 lakh people and netting exports worth ₹1 lakh crore. There was no region in the State, where such huge land parcel was available other than in Amaravati, he said.
Mr. Naidu began the day by visiting the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada and then drove to Uddandarayunivaripalem, where the foundation stone for construction of Amaravati was laid in October 2015. “I was not able to control my emotions as I recollected those days. We collected holy soil and water from various temples in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would help build a city greater than Delhi. What happened to all those promises?” questioned Mr. Naidu.
TDP State working president K. Atchannaidu, CPI secretary K. Ramakrishna, PCC working president Sk. Mastan Vali and other leaders spoke.
Earlier the members of JAC took out a huge procession leading to the venue. A heavy police bandobust ensured that no untoward incidents took place.