JAC urges CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to rethink on capital

Vijayawada: The leaders of the joint action committee (JAC) of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samiti here on Tuesday appealed to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to think once again on the shifting of the capital from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam.

Addressing the media, CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna expressed happiness over the status quo order given by the High Court and said that the Chief Minister was ruling the state in a stubborn manner. He started the rule of the state 14 months with destruction and going ahead with it. "If the Chief Minister has any grudge against the former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, he could have targeted him instead of destroying the state," he added.

The Chief Minister should concentrate on controlling the Covid-19 rather than other issues, he suggested. The Covid-afflicted persons are not served food properly, doctors and nurses are not attending on them. "If Jagan is confident on his decision, he can dissolve the Assembly and seek fresh mandate with Amaravati as the agenda," Ramakrishna said.

JAC convener R V Swamy said that the people of Amaravati have been agitating for the last 230 days. The people are compelled to move the judiciary on the decision of the state government, he said.

He appealed to the Chief Minister to think over the issue and take a suitable decision in retaining the capital at Amaravati. He pointed out that Visakhapatnam is at the distance of 1,200 km from some Rayalaseema district, which is very difficult to reach.

Congress leader Sunkara Padmasri, former ZP chairperson Gadde Anuradha, BJP leader Velagapudi Ramakrishna, Lok Satta leader Narla Malati, Dr Sailaja and others also spoke.