KURNOOL: At a time when the farmers and various Joint Action Committees in the capital region Amaravati upped the ante against the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s three-capital proposal, various organisations and JACs from Rayalaseema region came out in support of the idea. Rayalaseema-based social organisations, including private school managements association, students and youth JAC, advocates JAC, intellectuals association and junior, degree and engineering colleges associations, jointly took out a massive rally in Kurnool city on Saturday in support of the three-capital proposal. The JAC leaders termed the ongoing protests in Amaravati ‘bogus’ and demanded that the High Court be set up in Kurnool as part of the move to decentralise capital functions. The rally which began at STBC Degree College, culminated at the district Collectorate.
Amaravati farmers, who gave 33,000 acres of land for the development of capital, strongly opposed the move to shift the Secretariat from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam and High Court to Kurnool as part of the three-capital proposal. The Rayalaseema organisations have decided to launch a stir in support of the decentralised development proposal made by the YSRC government.
On December 17, 2019, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy mooted the idea of having three capitals for Andhra Pradesh, with executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool, spread over the three predominant regions of the State.
Rayalaseema JAC terms Amaravati stir ‘bogus’
Student and youth associations JAC convener B Sriramulu said, “Once again, the people of Rayalaseema will face injustice if we do not raise our rightful demands now. The people of Coastal Andhra region are holding a false agitation for their vested interests. If we do not raise our voice now, Rayalaseema region will remain undeveloped forever,” he observed.
Sriramulu called upon the people of the region to unite and fight for the High Court, second capital, completion of pending projects and rightful share of irrigation water for Rayalaseema. He said people of Kurnool had sacrificed more than 1 lakh acres of fertile land for the sake of Srisailam project. “Our sacrifices are greater than the bogus claims of farmers of capital region,” the JAC convener said.
Finding fault with the political parties which are supporting the agitation in Amaravati, he questioned as to why they are opposing the setting up of High Court and mini-secretariat in Kurnool.
Kurnool District Bar Association (KDBA) president K Mohan Babu demanded that a gazette notification be issued with an endorsement by the Supreme Court at the earliest for the establishment of High Court in Kurnool. The government should pass a Bill in the Assembly in this regard, he said.