VIJAYAWADA: Continuing their protest against YSRC government’s three-capital cities proposal for the seventh day on Tuesday, farmers from 29 capital region villages sent hundreds of letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention.
Noting that any deviation from the master plan prepared by the earlier State government was betrayal, they requested that justice be served to them and their families.
The farmers, besides demonstrating protests in Mandadam, Velagapudi and other villages, sent three-page letters to PM Modi, duly attaching their Aadhaar cards and other identification proofs, and addressed them to the PM’s office in New Delhi via speed post. In the letter, the farmers explained the circumstances in which they had given their lands and reminded the PM that he had laid the foundation for Amaravati in 2015.
They also noted that the Centre released Rs 2,500 crore for various works in the capital region.
Stating that injustice was being done to them by the present government, the farmers said, “We supported the YSRC with a fond hope that it will continue the developmental activities (in the capital region). Even the Assembly segments in the capital area were won by the YSRC. Such was the hope we reposed in the government. To our dismay, the YSRC government’s actions have been detrimental to our interests as it stopped developmental activities since May, 2019.”
They also included in the letters the statements given by YSRC ministers on various occasions, which created unrest among the stakeholders. They noted, “Unless the proposals made are implemented and infrastructure developed, the returnable plots will be of no use or value. This will hit our survival. Any deviation from the master plan is nothing but betrayal.”
Earlier in the day, a group of farmers also met BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana at his residence in Guntur. They gave him a representation seeking PM Narendra Modi’s intervention in the issue so that their interests are protected. Speaking on the occasion, Kanna advised Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to refrain from ‘dictatorial’ governance.
“This is not just the issue of farmers, but the entire State’s, as it is related to the capital. We are in favour of decentralised development, but not decentralised administration. The BJP will demand the core capital—all legislative and administrative buildings—be established in Amaravati,” he said.
He further appealed to Jagan to not resort to ‘vendetta politics’ and work in the interest of the State, predicting that decentralised administration might lead to wastage of public money.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu refrained from making any comment on the ongoing issue of the capital. When farmers from the capital region met him on Tuesday at Swarna Bharati Trust in Atkuru, the V-P said that he was aware of the developments in the State, but would not make any comments as he was holding a constitutional position.
“If I say anything about the issue, it may lead to unnecessary issues,” he said and was reported to have assured the farmers that he would do whatever he can by talking to the right people at the right time.
