VIJAYAWADA: Newly-appointed chief of the BJP State unit Somu Veerraju has clarified that the Centre will not intervene in the State capital issue and added the State unit stands committed to its political resolution in favour of Amaravati to ensure justice to the farmers who had parted with their lands for the capital development.
Ironically, just before Somu’s statement, BJP MP YS Chowdary (Sujana Chowdary), in a press conference, claimed that the Centre has the authority to direct the State and that it would intervene "at the right time". In an interaction with the media in New Delhi, Somu Veerraju said a few political parties were trying to put the BJP in a spot by raising the issue of the Centre’s stand on the capital issue.
"When N Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister, he claimed he would develop the capital as Singapore, China, Japan and other countries. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone as Naidu invited him, but the Centre did not intervene when he said all those things. The Centre never intervenes in the issue of any State’s capitals. Now, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is proposing three capital plan.The Centre won’t intervene even now," Somu clarified.
He further said that the BJP State unit’s stand on Amaravati would remain the same. "The party has made it clear that we are in favour of Amaravati as the capital and that the farmers should get justice. But, the Centre has no role in this," Somu added.
On the other hand, YS Chowdary, addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, claimed the State government’s plan to decentralise the capital was against the constitutional provisions. He claimed that the Centre, as per Articles 256 and 254 of the Indian Constitution, has the authority to direct the State government.
"The government has violated the Constitution by sending the two Bills to the Governor without the Legislative Council’s approval. I don’t think the Governor will approve them without taking legal opinion. Even if he does after getting inputs, it won’t stand in the courts. The plan of decentralisation of governance is against Section 5 and Section 6 of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014," he claimed.
Sujana clarified that he was not speaking as a representative of the Centre, "but as an MP and as someone who is aware of the constitutional provisions. I am reiterating that the Centre will intervene at the right moment", he claimed.
BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao, who felicitated Veerraju in New Delhi, said that Andhra Pradesh political space will witness episodes similar to those that happened in Uttar Pradesh. "The BJP grew in UP within a few years. The same thing will happen in AP. The TDP’s fate will be akin to the Congress. Like Jyotiradiya Scindia and Sachin Pilot, young politicians will abandon the TDP," the BJP MP said.
Party national secretary and co-incharge of the BJP State unit Sunil Deodhar slammed the YSRC and the TDP. “The BJP-Jana Sena combo will fight for the rights of people of Andhra Pradesh, who were backstabbed by Naidu in the past and are being stabbed in the front by Jagan Mohan Reddy. The BJP-Jana Sena alliance will secure full majority during the next elections,” he asserted. Praising former State chief Kanna, he described Somu as the face of Hindutva as he hails from a swayamsevak background.
Soon after BJP Rajya Sabha member YS Chowdary (Sujana Chowdary) claimed that the Centre would intervene in the three-capital issue at the right moment, the BJP State unit issued a clarification that Sujana’s statement doesn’t represent the party’s views.
"YS Chowdary’s statement that the central government definitely has a role in capital issues does not represent the party’s view. The party’s stand was asserted by State president Somu Veerraju that the BJP favours continuation of Amaravati and the capital is not in the central government’s purview," the State unit clarified on in a tweet