VIJAYAWADA: The indefinite protests against Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s decision on decentralisation of the State capital, entered Day 40 on Sunday. As part the of protests, farmers from Uddandarayunipalem performed ‘maha kalabhairava yagam’, hoping for a change in the CM’s stand on the issue, in the presence of Siva Swamy of Saiva Kshetram.
They demanded an explanation on why Jagan did not declare his capital plans during electioneering and accused him of cheating them and creating regional differences in the name of development.
"He has to explain what is the need for shifting the capital from Amaravati. The previous government spent around Rs 5,000 crore on infrastructure such as roads and buildings for offices and quarters for officials, in the region. What will be the fate of that money?" the farmers sought to know.
Addressing the villagers, the pontiff said a huge meeting with participation of one lakh people will be conducted in Tirupati soon, to condemn the YSRC government’s decision and against CM Jagan.
Siva Swamy added though he has nothing to do with politics, but the situation was such that he had to step in. "Amaravati is a sacred place. The prime minister himself laid the foundation stone for the capital. How can the State government simply ignore the importance of the place?" He warned that a padayatra will be taken out from Srikakulam to Amaravati, in support of farmers.
Meanwhile, Amaravati Parirakshana Joint Action Committee praised Council chairman MA Shariff for referring the Decentralisation of Governance and Inclusive Development of the State Bill, which was passed in the Assembly. "We lost hope after the YSRC leaders passed the bill in the Assembly. But the Council chairman gave a lease of life to our protests," said JAC president Ch Sudhakar.
On the other hand, As many as 1000 women from Tadikonda mandal took out a procession from Tadikonda to Mandadam and expressed solidarity with the protesters. Meanwhile, JAC representatives organised a rally in Gannavaram, in which more than 300 people participated.