New Twist in Three Capital Bills, Governor Seeks Legal Opinion from Experts in Delhi
AP Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan
Amaravati: The three capitals issue took a new twist at Raj Bhavan. The Governor's Secretariat has been seeking legal opinion from the experts in New Delhi, according to the Raj Bhavan sources at Vijayawada. It is a surprise to the ruling YSRCP, which believes that the two bills including AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill and AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Bill would get the Governor's assent easily.
In fact, the State Government and YSRCP leaders are in an expectation that after waiting for some days, the Governor would formally give his assent to these two Bills. From the perspective of the State government, there were no legal issues and everything was crystal clear. On the other hand, the senior High Court advocate Jandhyala Ravi Shankar pin pointedly opposed the two Bills by saying that the Assembly did not have the authority to bring these Bills.
On the other hand, the TDP senior leader and former minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu wrote a letter objecting the procedure adopted by the State Government in bringing these bills for the assent of the Governor. The BJP AP president Kanna Lakshminarayana also objected to the Governor and urged him to consider the demerits in these bills before giving his consent. All these developments led to taking the opinion from the legal experts, outside the State.
So far, everybody was in view that the Governor only took the advice from the legal expert in the AP Government. But now, the Raj Bhavan sources revealed that the Governor has been consulting with the experts in the national capital. In addition to that, the recent set back to the State government in both the High Court and Supreme Court in reinstatement of Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as State Election Commissioner also influenced the decision of the Governor on the three capitals bills.
In these circumstances, the decision of the Governor on the two bills would get much more delayed, according to the sources.